Video: Floods paralyse Saudi city of Jeddah, three killed

Web Report /Riyadh

Filed on November 22, 2017

(Image via Twitter)

The victims died of electrocution after heavy downpour in Jeddah

Three people died in flash floods triggered by heavy rains swept through Jeddah on Tuesday, leaving motorists stranded and forcing authorities to shut schools and universities in Saudi Arabia's second biggest city.

One person died of electrocution in Jeddah and three others in other places in Makkah region, according to a Saudi Gazette report. Out if the 29 emergency reports received by Jeddah Health Affairs, eight were related to electrocution and the rest traffic accidents.

The Civil Defense received 250 reports of short circuits, spokesman of the Civil Defense in Makkah Province Col. Saeed Al Sarhan told the newspaper.

Dozens of people were plucked from vehicles engulfed by floodwaters, Saudi civil defence authorities said, with heavy rainfall expected to last at least until Wednesday.

The Saudi Red Crescent Authority in Madinah reported 17 cases of people slipping and falling near the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah and in the Central Area.

Video: #Floods paralyse #Saudi city of #Jeddah, three killedhttps://t.co/HrfN8e3asU pic.twitter.com/Nq468x5GWV
- Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) November 22, 2017

A total of 481 stranded people were rescued in Makkah, Madinah, Tabuk, and Al Jouf. Ten families were evacuated and 41 vehicles were towed away. In Taif, the municipality deployed 30 teams to deal with the hazards of rainfall and floods

Meanwhile, more rainfall is expected in Jeddah, Makkah and Taif, the General Authority of Meteorology & Environmental Protection announced on Tuesday.

Jeddah will witness more rain while heavy rainfall is expected in Makkah and Taif, the General Authority of Meteorology & Environmental Protection said on its Twitter account, the report adds.

Local residents posted videos on social media, with one showing a convoy of official cars wading through a road which resembled a lake.

Video: Saudi police trying to save people stuck in a car in the floods

With fears of more rain, which also affected other regions of western Saudi Arabia, the education department announced that Jeddah schools will remain shut for the safety of students.

Flooding occurs almost every year in Jeddah. Floods killed 123 people in the Red Sea city in 2009, and about 10 people two years later. (With inputs taken from AFP)

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