Riyadh: Heavy rains killed at least two people in western Saudi Arabia on Thursday, including in the coastal city of Jeddah, delaying flights and forcing schools to close, officials said.
“Two deaths have been recorded so far, and we call on everyone not to go out unless necessary,” the Makkah regional government said on its Twitter page.
The Makkah area includes Jeddah, the kingdom’s second largest city with about 4 million people, and the city of Makkah, Islam’s holiest city, where millions of people perform Hajj and Umrah every year.
The road connecting the two, which many pilgrims use to reach Mecca, was closed on Thursday after it started raining, state media reported, though it was later reopened, officials said.
The state-affiliated Al-Ikhbariya channel showed footage of worshipers at Mecca’s Grand Mosque circling the Kaaba — the cubic structure that is the centerpiece of Islam — in heavy rain.
In Jeddah, photos posted on social media showed standing water blocking traffic and partially submerging some vehicles.
The city’s King Abdulaziz International Airport said “due to inclement weather, the departure of some flights has been delayed” and urged passengers to check with carriers for updated schedules.
The official Saudi Press Agency reported before dawn that schools in the city would be temporarily closed as rain was forecast to continue throughout the day.
Schools in the nearby towns of Rabigh and Kholis were also closed “for the safety of male and female students,” the SPA said.
#VIDEO: Many cars submerged in water in an eastern #Jeddah street, which was closed as a result of the heavy rain pic.twitter.com/COSlmkUnAn
— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) November 24, 2022
#جدة تسجل أعلى كمية أمطار في 13 عاما
— صحيفة الاقتصادية (@aleqtisadiah) November 24, 2022
تصوير : محمد المانع – #الاقتصاديةhttps://t.co/in9ENHogCS#عاجل pic.twitter.com/eZpxCIEW2R
The kingdom is in the midst of final exams, yet schools across the country were already closed on Wednesday after King Salman declared a holiday following Saudi Arabia’s World Cup win over Argentina.
Winter rains and floods hit Jeddah almost every year, and residents have long suffered from poor infrastructure.
Floods killed 123 people in the city in 2009 and another 10 two years later.
