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| Rare downpours and floods hit Saudi capital | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 18 Nov 2013, 01:22 AM (87 Views) | |
| skibboy | 18 Nov 2013, 01:22 AM Post #1 |
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17 NOVEMBER 2013 Rare downpours and floods hit Saudi capital ![]() A Saudi labourer tries to clear a flooded street in northern Riyadh, on November 17, 2013, after heavy rains fell overnight in the Saudi capital, causing floods and traffic jams ![]() Cars drive through a flooded street in northern Riyadh, on November 17, 2013, after heavy rains fell overnight in the Saudi capital AFP - Rare heavy downpours triggered flash floods in the Saudi capital on Sunday forcing schools and universities to close and prompting calls by the authorities for citizens to remain indoors. At least three people were reported missing, the state news agency SPA said quoting civil defence spokesman Colonel Abdullah al-Harithi. He added that authorities assisted dozens of people trapped by the floods, a rare phenomenon to hit the capital of the desert kingdom. Heavy rains, accompanied by thunderstorms, have lashed Riyadh since late Saturday triggering flash floods in several districts and cutting off power in the city's north, according to residents. Harithi urged Riyadh citizens, estimated at more than five million people, to stay away from rivers, valleys and flooded tunnels while the education ministry ordered schools and university closed Sunday. Saudi Arabia, like other desert countries, rarely sees heavy rainfall and religious leaders often organise prayers for rain. But in May last year around 20 people were killed in flooding that swept parts of Saudi Arabia, which had not experienced such a high volume of rainfall for 25 years. And in 2011, around 10 people were killed in floods in the western city of Jeddah, where 123 people also perished in floods in 2009. The inability of Jeddah's infrastructure to drain off flood waters and uncontrolled construction in and around the city were blamed at the time for the high number of victims. The national weather service has warned of new storms expected Sunday in Riyadh and other parts of the kingdom. Source:
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| skibboy | 20 Nov 2013, 01:06 AM Post #2 |
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19 NOVEMBER 2013 Saudi floods kill four ![]() A car drives through a flooded street in northern Riyadh, on November 17, 2013 AFP - Flash floods sparked by torrential rain in largely desert Saudi Arabia have killed four people and left 10 missing over the past two days, the civil defence authority said Tuesday. Two of the dead and seven of the missing were in the capital Riyadh, with the rest coming in the northeastern city of Arar, the authority said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. Since Monday, emergency teams have rescued 1,357 people trapped by the floodwaters, it added. It urged the more than five million residents of the capital to to stay away from rivers and flooded tunnels. Schools and universities have been closed since Sunday. Saudi Arabia normally experiences such low rainfall that religious leaders often organise special prayers for rain. But in May last year, around 20 people were killed in flooding sparked by the kingdom's heaviest rainfall in 25 years. Floods in the western city of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast killed 10 people in 2011 and 123 people in 2009. Poor drainage and uncontrolled construction were blamed for the high death tolls in Jeddah. Source:
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| skibboy | 21 Nov 2013, 01:53 AM Post #3 |
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20 NOVEMBER 2013 Saudi flood toll rises to seven ![]() A Saudi man looks at water in the flooded Nimar valley, south of the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 19, 2013 AFP - Flash floods sparked by torrential rain in largely desert Saudi Arabia have killed seven people over the past three days, the civil defence authority said on Wednesday. Five other people are still missing after parts of the capital Riyadh and the northeastern city of Arar were inundated, authority spokesman Colonel Abdullah al-Harithi told the official SPA news agency. The storms that have accompanied the downpours have brought down power lines, sparking outages in parts of north Riyadh. Schools and universities in the capital have been closed since Sunday. Flooding of underpasses on major thoroughfares has sparked traffic chaos for Riyadh's more than five million residents. Saudi Arabia normally experiences such low rainfall that religious leaders often organise special prayers for rain. But in May last year, around 20 people were killed in flooding sparked by the kingdom's heaviest rainfall in 25 years. Source:
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9:33 AM Jul 11