Wajdan Al-Aqab, head of the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, confirmed that the society is proposing scientific and practical solutions to reduce the risks of floods in the State of Kuwait, “most notably activating the process of rainwater and floodwater seeping vertically into the soil, after preparing the land from a hydrological perspective.”.
Al-Aqab pointed out that “the association calls for the preparation of a flood risk map for the State of Kuwait based on the analysis and interpretation of high-resolution satellite images (50 cm) for November 2018. These images accurately show the areas that were affected and the degree of flood risk in every part of the country, and the flood risk map will be the baseline for the flood prevention plan in the State of Kuwait.”.
For his part, Professor Dr. Raafat Misak, a member of the Wildlife Protection Committee of the Society, said that “the risks of floods in Kuwait can be reduced by unconventional scientific and practical methods, as well as being inexpensive, including activating the vertical seepage process of rainwater into the soil after breaking or perforating the hard, impermeable crust in the upper part of the earth’s surface (an average thickness of 20 cm), which covers an area of no less than 65 % of the terrestrial environment in the State of Kuwait.”.
Dr. Misak added, “Successful experiments to break up the hard crust have been carried out in experimental sites, including the Al-Liyah area in 2011, where the soil, after its pores were opened, absorbed quantities of rainwater that led to the flourishing of dozens of annual plants.”.
He explained, “If the pores and gaps in the upper part of the hardened soil are opened through shallow plowing of the land with light mechanical equipment, or through digging earthworks with an average depth of 30 cm and a diameter of 4-6 inches, at a rate of five holes per square meter, then when heavy rains fall, the network of earthworks or the plowed land acts as areas for draining rainwater vertically into the soil, which delays the phenomenon of torrent runoff or floods.” He added, “Someone might ask, should we plow all the hardened lands in the country, how long will it take, and what will the cost be? The answer is that there is a plan being prepared by the Kuwait Environment Protection Society to improve the natural properties of the soil in the State of Kuwait.”.
Dr. Misak explained that “there is an indispensable requirement when managing the phenomenon of flash floods in the State of Kuwait, which is a flood risk map. During November 2018, the country was exposed to waves of heavy rain, resulting in devastating floods in various locations in the State of Kuwait. According to data from the General Directorate of Meteorology in Kuwait, the amount of rain during the period from 1-16 November 2018 reached approximately 285 mm (Mina Al-Ahmadi) and 236 mm (Kuwait City). These are large amounts that are rarely repeated.”.
