Ministry says municipalities were ‘well prepared’ for blizzard

AMMAN — Around 500 municipal vehicles were used to clear the streets of the Kingdom’s municipalities during the blizzard, according to an official at the Municipal Affairs Ministry.

Abbas Hmeisat, media director at the ministry, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the ministry’s three main operations rooms were working in close coordination with the ministry’s operations room and several secondary rooms “round the-clock”.

Hmeisat noted that all 100 municipalities were “well prepared ahead of time”, adding that northern governorates were the busiest during the blizzard.

“Some 250 snow-sweeping vehicles and armoured loaders were in operation since the beginning of the
snowstorm in 30 municipalities in the north, which witnessed very heavy snow fall,” he said over the phone.

However, other municipalities, including Shobak District in Maan Governorate, observed “a strange phenomenon” of quick snow accumulation.

Hmeisat explained that Shobak residents woke up at 4am to 1.5 metres of snow, although there was no snow or rain the evening before, adding that this constituted a heavier burden on municipal workers.

He noted that areas like Salt, Ain Al Basha, Jerash, Ajloun, Irbid, Madaba and Karak required extra efforts to clear the snow, as they witnessed heavy snow fall. 

The official highlighted the collaboration with the Joint Services Councils for governorates, as well as the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army to clear the roads.

“The ministry’s operations rooms are still working as we speak,” Hmeisat stressed, adding that Municipal Affairs Minister Walid Masri visited several municipalities to observe their work during the blizzard.