JEDDAH: Heavy rain lashed Jeddah Wednesday flooding main roads and causing traffic chaos. Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) also announced that it has stopped all flights at King Abdul Aziz International Airport until the weather improves. The Civil Defense had issued a warning about thunder clouds, accompanied by heavy rain and winds of 70 kilometers Wednesday. The warnings were issued to Mobily subscribers in Arabic only. It urged all residents to take care and remain in safe areas. The Civil Defense in Jeddah said it would be on alert until Sunday and the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has issued warnings that heavy, thunderous rains could fall in several regions including Jeddah. Brig. Abdullah Jiddawi, Director of Civil Defense in Jeddah, advised people against unnecessary travel and said people should stay away from valleys and other hazardous areas. Civil Defense teams were positioned along flood courses and rescue teams were also positioned in some locations inside the old Jeddah area, as a precautionary measure, he added. Officials from the mayoralty were seen guiding workers pumping large quantities of water from the roads to dump in the flood canals east of Jeddah. The Jeddah Mayoralty said in a statement Wednesday that they have provided 120 tankers to drain the rain water. The blocked roads include King Abdul Aziz Road, Al-Madina Road, the roads of Al-Fahd District in front of the Saudi Geological Survey, and Prince Sultan Street along Briman and Al-Ajwad districts. Residents of Al-Fahd District and some districts east of Jeddah were totally cut off from their homes because of flooded roads. “We have been complaining for two years about the roads in our district, but no one listens to us. What did the mayoralty do to fix the two main roads since the last flood?” asked a resident. He joked that he would need a jet-ski to get to his home. He said he damaged his car on the roads in the district. Students in east Jeddah were sent home early before the rain started. Hussein Al-Qahtani, a spokesman for the PME, told Saudi Gazette that the rain started at 11 A.M. and ended at 12.30 P.M. “The rain was accompanied by a south-eastern wind. The wind speed was between 18 and 45 kilometers and a total of 24 millimeters of rain was recorded,” he said.
