Cairo: Traffic authorities in Saudi Arabia have warned motorists against driving through overflowing valleys, saying fines of up to SR10,000 will be levied on violators.
The General Department of Traffic sounded the alarm as several parts of Saudi Arabia are experiencing rainfall.
“Crossing valleys is considered a grave act that puts citizens’ lives in danger and is regarded as a traffic infringement,” it added.
The offence is punishable by fines ranging from SR5,000 to SR10,000, the department said.
Torrential rains caused flash floods in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Thursday, prompting closure of schools, delaying flights hampering traffic and stranding cars, bringing back to memory massive, deadly flooding that battered the city in 2009.
The heavy rain was the highest ever recorded rainfall in the coastal city, spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) Hussain Al Qahtani said on Friday.
The downpour on Thursday lasted for about eight hours – from 8am to 5pm – and poured 179.7mm of water, according to the center’s monitoring stations.
