In the face of growing climate change risks, the government has taken several measures aimed at adopting a proactive approach to deal with the threat of floods. Tightening construction licensing measures in flood-prone areas, the government has also established regional vigilance committees responsible for monitoring warning bulletins issued by the General Directorate of Meteorology and informing residents about potential flood occurrences.
This comes as part of a decree project related to flood protection and prevention, which was approved during the government’s weekly meeting on Wednesday. The project aims to specify how to implement and activate the provisions of Law No. 36.15 concerning water, especially those related to flood protection, monitoring, and management when they occur.
The government emphasized the installation of barriers or structures that hinder floodwater flow in flood-prone areas. The decree states that the license to erect such barriers or structures is granted by the head of the relevant municipality after consulting the opinion of the relevant water basin agency, based on a license request submitted by the project owner.
The decree outlines the required documents for the license application, emphasizing the commitment to an insurance contract against natural disasters. It also includes a technical report on the positive effects of the project in flood control, along with designs of barriers or structures complying with the rules and standards specified in flood hazard prevention plans for the relevant region.
Regarding flood risk forecasting and alerts, the decree mandates the establishment of integrated systems for predicting and alerting flood loads at the level of watercourses or sections of watercourses prone to high flood risk. The Water Basin Agency will coordinate the development of these systems in collaboration with decentralized authorities responsible for internal affairs, water, agriculture, the General Directorate of Meteorology, and local authorities.
The authorities are now placing greater emphasis on warning bulletins issued by meteorological services as a preemptive mechanism to prevent or mitigate flood risks. The decree establishes a regional committee tasked with tracking warning bulletins from the General Directorate of Meteorology and contributing to alerting and raising awareness among residents about potential flood events. The committee will also coordinate and monitor intervention and rescue operations in case of flooding.