Cairo: A Saudi governorate near the holy city of Mecca has experienced flash floods believed to be unprecedented resulting from torrential rains.
Videos circulating on social media show powerful flooding purportedly sweeping across the Fatma Wadi in Al Jumum Governorate north of Mecca in western Saudi Arabia, causing a local wadi to overflow for the first time on Wednesday, according to witnesses.
Footage also showed a flock of camels stranded by flooding in the area. A road connecting Mecca to Jeddah was also submerged by floods, media reported.
The civil defence directorate advised the public to exercise vigilance and observe safety guidelines as well as avoid water accumulations and wadis, given inclement weather gripping some parts of the Mecca province.
Downpours, meanwhile, drenched some parts of the Eastern Province. An online video showed the King Fahd Road, a key route in the eastern city of Dammam, submerged with rainwater that lashed the city Wednesday, causing traffic disruptions.
The rainfall prompted authorities in Dammam to temporarily shut down tunnels of the King Fahd Road as a precaution.
Authorities, moreover, urged people to stay in safe places and not to go outdoors unless necessary.
In a forecast report for Thursday, the Saudi National Centre of Meteorology expected that heavy to medium thunderstorms, accompanied by hail showers, and dust-laden winds, are likely to continue to hit parts of the Eastern Province, Najran, Jizan, Asir, and Riyadh and light to medium rainfall in parts of Al Baha in the south west extending to heights in Mecca.
Bad weather this week prompted suspension of in-person classes in several areas of Saudi Arabia including Riyadh, Al Qassim, and the Eastern Province, and switch to remote learning.
Meanwhile, Oman and Qatar are also expecting heavy rainfall on Thursday, according to Oman News Agency and Qatar News Agency.
Bahrain experience downpour on Wednesday, reports said.
