JEDDAH — Bringing back shocking memories of the devastating flooding that struck the city in another November exactly 13 years ago, Jeddah witnessed on Thursday torrential rain and flooding, accompanied by storm, thunder and lightning, in the city and most parts of the governorate. Two people were died while several people, who were trapped inside submerged vehicles, rescued. According to the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), the amount of rain recorded in Jeddah from 8 am to 2 pm Thursday exceeded the amount recorded in 2009, reaching 179 mm in six hours. The Jeddah Mayoralty is racing against time in restoring the normal life after deploying a total 2564 workers, equipped by about 960 machinery, to remove water and waste from roads and streets so as to facilitate the resumption of traffic movement. Flight and vehicle traffic were disrupted for several hours as major arteries and roads were inundated in water. Some flights were delayed at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) while the Haramain Expressway and some other major roads were closed for several hours. Traffic has been resumed on the Makkah - Jeddah Expressway in both directions after disruption of vehicular movement for many hours. The mayoralty and NCM announced a state of alert and urged the residents to be cautious and not to venture out in rainy weather. Several streets in Jeddah residential neighborhoods flooded due to torrential rain, causing breakdown of many vehicles. Civil Defense spokesman Col. Muhammad Al-Qarni said that two deaths were reported due to heavy rains in Jeddah, and emergency room with involvement of a number of agencies has been operational to ensure speedy intervention of emergency cases. Swimmers from Jeddah Civil Defense have rescued many motorists trapped inside their vehicles submerged in the inundated King Abdullah Road tunnel. Many cars submerged in water in an eastern Jeddah street, which was completely closed as a result of the heavy rain. According to NCM, the city witnessed 60 millimeters of rain within two hours in the morning. Torrential rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning hit Jeddah for nearly six hours from 8.00 in the morning, bringing the city life almost into a halt. Most of the residents were forced to stay indoors as they watched the water levels rise steadily outside their home surroundings while most streets submerged in water. Residents took to Twitter and Instagram to share images and video clips of extreme weather conditions and scenes of vehicles being washed away. Vehicles broke down in a number of Jeddah streets as a result of the heavy rains that started hitting the city since this morning. Schools and universities were closed in Jeddah, Rabigh and Khulais governorates following the announcement of the Jeddah Education Directorate Wednesday evening in anticipation of the stormy weather. King Abdulaziz International Airport announced that some flights were delayed due to weather conditions. In a statement on its Twitter account, the airport said that the take-off of some flights has been delayed due to weather conditions, stating that it would communicate with airlines to confirm the new flight departure schedule. Earlier, in the day the Emirate of Makkah Region announced the closure of the Makkah-Jeddah expressway, as a precaution, due to the rains, and in the interest of everyone's safety. Several roads, including the Haramain Road, as well as some tunnels in the governorate were closed after many parts of the Jeddah governorate started receiving heavy downpour since Thursday morning. The Jeddah Mayoralty has swung into action to carry out its field plan to confront the rainy situation. "The mayoralty would continue its field work until the end of the rainy situation, with the participation of about 2564 workers and employees and about 960 machinery and equipment. "Field efforts have so far been resulted in the withdrawal of water pools and the removal of waste from a number of locations, through working teams distributed across 16 branch municipalities and 13 support centers, as part of the approved plan for the current rainy season," it said in a statement. Earlier in the day, the General Directorate of Civil Defense called on everyone to be careful and wary of potential dangers, with staying away from places where torrents occur. It called on the public not to gather or cross valleys during raining, as well as to adhere to the Civil Defense instructions announced through various media and social media outlets. Director of the Forecast Department at NCM Hamza Kumi said that light to moderate rain is expected in Jeddah until Friday morning. Earlier, NCM had warned of moderate to heavy rain, accompanied by surface winds, hail and low visibility, in several parts of the Makkah region, including the governorates of Jeddah, and Rabigh, in addition to Thuwal and other coastal areas. Thursday's torrential rain and flooding brought back the bitter memory of the devastating flooding that struck Jeddah on Nov. 25, 2009. Some 122 people were reported killed and at least 3,000 vehicles swept away or damaged in the flooding, which was the worst in 27 years.
