Jordan gov’t takes responsibility after floods

By Laith Joneidi

AMMAN (AA) – The Jordanian government on Tuesday admitted responsibility for failure to deal with last week’s flash floods that hit the country’s Dead Sea region.

"The government takes the practical and administrative responsibility” for the floods, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz told a parliamentary session.

At least 21 people have been killed and dozens injured by the floods, according to Jordanian authorities.

"It is not the role of the government to look for a scapegoat but to look into all options to accurately identify accountability for the [lost] lives of our innocent children,” Razzaz said.

The premier stressed that “successful countries are those that do not repeat mistakes."

Meanwhile in the session, lawmakers unleashed a harsh criticism against Razzaz and demanded a withdrawal of confidence from his government.

The session concluded with voting in favor of establishing an investigation committee that will submit a report within 10 days into the circumstances of the flash floods.

Most of those killed in the floods were students and teachers whose bus was swept away by during a school trip.
On Thursday, several areas of the Hashemite Kingdom were hit by flash floods following torrential rainfall.