Two people have died in floods that swept across Saudi Arabia‘s coastal city of Jeddah on Thursday due to record rain levels.
The Saudi civil defence spokesperson in the Mecca province announced the deaths on Twitter and urged residents to remain indoors unless for urgent needs.
The floods have also caused flight delays at King Abdulaziz International Airport, school closures and blocked the road to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, state media reported.
According to Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology, the rainfall in Jeddah’s southern area between 8am and 2pm on Thursday, which stood at 179 millimeters, was the “highest” ever recorded. It exceeded the amount of rainfall registered in 2009 when dozens of people died in flash floods.
Images posted to social media on Thursday showed cars being swept along streets through raging torrents of water.
The city’s King Abdulaziz International Airport said that “due to weather conditions, the departure of some flights has been delayed” and urged passengers to contact carriers for up-to-date schedules.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported before dawn that schools in the city would be closed, as rains were forecast to continue throughout the day.
Schools were also closed in the nearby towns of Rabigh and Khulais “to preserve the safety of male and female students”, SPA said.
