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Ammon News - JT - Several Amman residents on Monday complained about authorities’ lack of preparedness to deal with Sunday’s heavy downpour, which rendered the capital’s major streets inaccessible to cars as well as pedestrians.

Unstable weather conditions that began affecting the Kingdom on Sunday brought heavy rainfall to the eastern suburbs of the capital, where several streets were waterlogged.

Linda Khoury, the founder of a photography centre in Jabal Luweibdeh, said the heavy rain flooded the streets of the old neighbourhood.

“The drains were not working because they were mostly blocked with tree leaves. Greater Amman Municipality [GAM] workers should have cleaned them before the onset of the unstable weather,” Khoury told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Mohammad Kilani, a vendor in downtown Amman, said rainfall flooded some of the area’s stores and made it difficult for pedestrians to walk on the pavement.

“Rainwater created small pools outside some shops. This will discourage people from shopping in this area during the wet season,” the bag seller added.

He noted that the area lacks drains compared to west Amman.

Khaldoun Abu Salha, president of the Committee to Save Downtown Amman, disagreed, noting that the area has sufficient drains, but they are not installed in the right places.

“There is no efficient planning regarding the location of the drains. I found some in places that do not receive a lot of rain,” he told The Jordan Times.

Abu Salha called on GAM to provide downtown Amman with better services to help the area cope with rainfall.

“Most of the rainwater in the city usually ends up in downtown Amman, because it is a low area,” he added.

Mahmoud Khalilah, who lives in the suburb of Marj Al Hamam, said he tries to avoid going out when it rains because the capital’s streets are not equipped for heavy rainfall.

“GAM should rehabilitate streets, especially drains,” Khalilah added.

He claimed that the 7th Circle is one of the worst areas in terms of waterlogged streets during winter.

“My family used to live there and they decided to move,” he added.

Ahmad Khreisat, director of GAM’s road maintenance department, was not available for comment despite several attempts to contact him by The Jordan Times.

In a recent GAM statement sent to The Jordan Times, Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said the municipality began revisiting its procedures to deal with winter and plans to improve the capital’s infrastructure.

According to the statement, GAM decided to install new drains, especially in Sweileh, where floods were previously reported.