Saudi Arabia: Safety guidelines set for Umrah pilgrims amid heavy rains in Mecca
Further rainfall, high-speed winds, floods and thunderstorms forecast in Mecca
Cairo: As the Saudi city of Mecca, home to Islam’s most sacred site, is experiencing heavy rains, authorities have advised Muslims planning to perform the Umrah or minor pilgrimage there to follow certain measures to ensure safety during rainfall.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah issued a set of rain-related guidelines for worshippers to observe while undertaking the Umrah rites in the Grand Mosque. They include avoiding crowded places, or jostling with others, be cautious while using escalators and corridors, and following security personnel’s directives in the sprawling site.
Worshippers were seen on Monday night offering the obligatory Isha (evening) prayers in the Grand Mosque amid heavy rains. Mecca was lashed by torrential rains accompanied by lighting and thunder, resulting in flooding several roads in the city.
The current season of Umrah, which can be undertaken around the year, got underway in Saudi Arabia in late June after the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage that around 1.8 million Muslims from across the globe attended.
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A government crisis management centre in Mecca has urged users of highways to observe vigilance as the region is affected by thunder rains, showers of hail and dust storms.
Meanwhile, the Saudi National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has forecast that further rainfall, high-speed winds, floods, and thunderstorms in Mecca and nearby areas are likely to continue until Tuesday evening.
The warning prompted education authorities to suspend in-person classes in Mecca and affiliated governorates on Tuesday for students’ safety and to switch to online learning. The Mecca-based Umm Al Qura University made a similar step.