Torrential rains in Taif on Wednesday exposed the city's poor infrastructure and drainage system, with many parked vehicles half-submerged by water in the streets. Families in flooded neighborhoods spent the beginning of the weekend at home. The Taif Civil Defense Department dispatched its team across the city to deal with public reports of trapped vehicles and electrical short-circuits, said Col. Abdullah Al-Thaqafi, spokesman of the department. The heavy rain hit Al-Qumariya, Al-Nuzha, Ring Road, Al-Wahat, Al-Wuhait and the industrial zone. The hospitals received 15 injured flood-related cases and one death Wednesday morning, said Said Saeed Al-Zahrani, spokesman of the Taif Health Department. Some major streets were temporarily closed to traffic, said Col. Abdullah Al-Shahrani, chief of the Taif Traffic Department. “We've received good cooperation from the Civil Defense and the Mayoralty to direct traffic to alternative streets,” he said.
