BAHA/BALJURASHI/BISHA/HABONA/TAIF/RIYADH – Heavy rain lashed several regions of the Kingdom Thursday, with heavy downpours causing major disruptions and a number of deaths. Heavy downpours were also reported in Riyadh on Thursday night, lashing the capital for more than two hours. In the Asir region, a family of seven drowned in Shwass Valley as a result of the heavy rains that fell on Al-Bashaer in Abha Thursday. The floods swept away cars and stranded citizens in their cars for the entire night. Several villages were marooned by the floods. In Al-Baha, a Civil Defense helicopter rescued stranded citizens from the valleys in Nakhal and a state of emergency was declared in the area. In Bisha, the citizens rescued on Thursday morning an old man and his son, who were swept away by the floods in Taraj Valley. In Najran, the floods swept away a car in Wadi Al-Harshaf with its young driver inside. He was eventually rescued by several citizens. Heavy rain also lashed the villages of Baljurashi on Thursday. Meanwhile, one man died while 14 others were injured in Taif because of the floods that swept through the governorate on Thursday night. Also, three people were stranded in their car in Aradah in Taif. Most of the injuries were due to traffic accidents, with 14 cases reported at Taif's hospitals. In addition, there was one death due to a traffic accident.
