On 24 November 2022 Jeddah received 179 mm of rain, which the National Center of Meteorology called the highest amount ever received in the city. That one day exceeded the 86.4 mm measured at the Jeddah-KAIA station in the whole of 2018, of which 70.8 mm fell in November.
Coverage at 46%
The city's answer is the Jeddah Storm Water Program, a municipal programme of 93 projects managed by WSP. By end-2024, 39 projects were completed or in progress, covering 46% of the city. The targets are 75% by 2028 and 100% by 2033, which leaves 29 percentage points to add in four years. Of 10 pumping stations, 4 were operational and 6 under construction; 46 of 56 outfalls, including sea outfalls, had been built.
Contracts still to land
The largest scheme reported, the King Abdullah Road–Falasteen Road (KAFA) tunnel, is valued by MEED at about USD 175 million per phase. Thrustboring Construction Company was selected in 2025 for phases 1 and 2, but MEED reported in October that, as of August 2026, no agreement had been signed. The bid deadline for the Prince Fawaz rainwater drainage network, estimated at about USD 60 million, was moved from 12 October to 15 November 2026. Bids for a USD 30 million Old Zahraa package were submitted on 16 September, with no award reported.
A coast that is also exposed
Saudi Arabia's Fourth National Communication to the UNFCCC, from March 2022, names Jeddah with Al Wajh and Jazan as the major coastal cities vulnerable to sea-level rise. Nationally, a 1–3 m rise could submerge 613.9 to 2,216.5 km² of coastal land.
How drought and flooding differ as risks to Jeddah's water, how sewers and coastal plants share the exposure, and which contracts decide the 2028 target are covered in the report. The full report, Climate Resilience: Drought and Flood Risk in Jeddah, is available for USD 249.