Saudi floods kill 77, leave scores missing

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said Thursday that 77 people were killed in intense flooding in Jeddah and nearby areas, and that scores could still be missing.

Men push their cars through flooded streets after a storm produced heavy rain in Jeddah. Pilgrims hoping to travel to the holy city of Mecca for the start of this year's hajj pilgrimage have been delayed by inclement weather. – Reuters Photo

Men push their cars through flooded streets after a storm produced heavy rain in Jeddah. Pilgrims hoping to travel to the holy city of Mecca for the start of this year's hajj pilgrimage have been delayed by inclement weather. – Reuters Photo

Jeddah civil defence spokesman Abduallah al-Omary said most of the deaths occurred in vulnerable areas in the city’s eastern and southern districts after a downpour on Wednesday.

Many of the dead were in automobiles and buses caught up in the rising waters, according to witnesses.

Based on calls from worried locals, 351 people were missing, Omary said.

The unusually heavy rains in the desert kingdom flooded streets and buildings in Jeddah, the main entry point for the pilgrims.

In some areas roads were still under more than one meter (three feet) of water on Thursday.

‘The water has gone down and things are getting better today compared to yesterday. We are doing our best to make things easier for the people still stuck,’ he told AFP.

A 90-millimetre (3.5-inch) downpour hit the Red Sea city and its surroundings, flooding roads and tunnels and collapsing some older buildings and homes.

At least four of the dead were in the neighbouring province of Mecca, where some 2.5 million pilgrims are undertaking the annual hajj.

The floods did, however, force the closure of a motorway to Islam’s holy city of Mecca, stranding pilgrims who were unable to complete their journey.

However, no hajj participants were killed in the floods, a health ministry official said.—AFP

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