Cairo: A fierce wind accompanying heavy rain toppled storefronts and damaged cars in the Saudi capital Riyadh, according to social media reports.
A video circulating online shows a number of cars damaged allegedly by tumbled fronts of shops on the Jaber Road in Riyadh.
Another footage shows an underground parking area purportedly flooded with rainwater inside a building in Al Munsiyah quarter in eastern Riyadh.
The water had reportedly accumulated inside the park from the street outside. The video shows the cars submerged in water as some owners try to get them out of the place.
On Thursday, the Saudi Civil Defence urged the public to exercise vigilance and observe guidelines due to the rainy weather in some parts of Riyadh, citing a red alert over the weather issued by meteorology authorities for the region.
The service said on its X account that parts of a building façade in eastern Riyadh’s Khalij district fell off, causing material damage, but no casualties.
Several areas in Saudi Arabia including Riyadh, Mecca, Medina and Al Qassim Thursday experienced torrential to medium rains.
The Saudi National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) expected Friday thunder rain, accompanied by strong winds and a drop in temperatures in the kingdom’s Eastern Province with a possibility of thunder and rain clouds over parts of Jizan in south-western Saudi Arabia extending to heights in Mecca.
A NCM report also forecast fog to envelop parts of the Eastern Province, Riyadh, H’ail and Al Jouf in north-western Saudi Arabia, and the North Borders.
In recent weeks, several areas in the kingdom have witnessed torrential rains, prompting authorities to suspend classes and shift to online learning.
