Flooding in Saudi Arabia

[Kojima]

People look at a flooded street after heavy rain in Tabuk, 932 miles from Riyadh. (Mohamed Alhwaity/Reuters)

A Saudi man sits near his home on a flooded street. (Mohamed Alhwaity/Reuters)

People wade down a flooded street after heavy rain in Tabuk. (Mohamed Alhwaity/Reuters)

Saudi man looks at a flooded street after heavy rain in Tabuk. (Mohamed Alhwaity/Reuters)

* Water Overwhelms a Saudi Arabian Town [Atlantic Cities: 29 Jan 2013]

The average rainfall in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, is about a quarter of an inch in January. This makes the flash flood that struck yesterday all the more overwhelming. English news reports on yesterday's floods are scarce, but here are scenes of homes and streets filled with water.

* Saudi Arabia evacuates 659 families from Tabuk due to floods [People's Daily Online: 30 Jan 2013]

RIYADH, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi authorities had to evacuate a total of 659 families living in four neighborhoods in Tabuk city in northwestern part of the country, due to floods resulting from heavy rains that continued for three days, according to Al Hayat newspaper on Wednesday.
The evacuees were accommodated in alternative apartments, a move taken to protect their lives after rain water entered their homes. Furthermore, several main roads in the city are blocked by water.
"Operations are being carried out to bring situations back to normal and allow the evacuated residents to go back to their homes, " Civil Defense Spokesman Colonel Mamdooh Al Onizi told the newspaper.
The Saudi Ministry of Education ordered to transfer students from the damaged schools in the city to nearby schools to avoid affecting their study as of Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Saudi National Anti-Corruption Commission will send a team to the city to get acquainted with real reasons for the drowning of the four residential areas.

* Flooding in Saudi Arabia [Reuters: 31 Jan 2013]

Torrential flooding hits parts of Saudi Arabia.

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See also about Saudi Arabia Floods

* 2012; April: Saudi Arabia: flash floods kills 18 in different parts of the country: by Andrey Eroshin on April 18, 2012

* 2011; January:  Flooding in Saudi Arabia kills 10 - CNN.com

Vehicles are piled up following heavy rains and floods in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia on January 27, 2011

(CNN) -- Torrential flooding this week in the western Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah continues to disrupt life in the region as schools were set to close on Saturday, according to the nation's state news.

Rescue operations were ongoing and at least 10 people died related to the flooding, with three missing in Jeddah, said Director General of Civil Defense, General Saad bin Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri, according to state news Saudi Press Agency Friday.

Ground teams rescued 1,451 people, helicopters rescued 498 residents, and more than 1,500 families were provided temporary shelter, according to Al-Tuwaijri.

Jeddah province received 111 mm (4 inches) of rain in three hours on Wednesday, according to the King Abdulaziz University's Meteorology Department.

After taking a tour of flood-ravaged areas of Jeddah on Thursday, the Governor of Makkah Region, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal told reporters that damage was attributed to the lack of a drainage system for flooding and rain water.

He said helicopters rescued 466 people by air on Wednesday night and ground teams evacuuted 951 residents from the worst hit neighborhoods of Jeddah -- Altawfeeq, Alsamer, Alnakheel, Alhamrah, Alkandarah and Ummal Khair.

Video from Jeddah showed rushing water through the streets carrying cars and people downstream. Shops and offices were closed and boarded up to try and prevent the flooding from reaching inside buildings.

Approximately 5,000 residents remained without power as of Thursday afternoon after power was restored to 65,000 customers, according to the Saudi Electricity Company, as reported by SPA.

In November of 2009, nearly 100 people died from flooding in western Saudi Arabia. The deaths occurred the port city of Jeddah, Rabigh, north of Jeddah, and in the Mecca region, Saudi authorities said. The flooding was during the Hajj pilgrimage, but no pilgrims were killed on their journey.

CNN Weather reports did not forecast more rain for Jeddah for the weekend.

* 2009 Jeddah floods - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Kojima]

1) Unstable weather hits region; more rain forecast in UAE [Emirates 24/7; 3 Feb 2013]

Mercury takes a dip in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah

By Shuchita Kapur; Published Sunday, February 03, 2013

A heavy storm system is currently impacting the entire region and beyond, affecting the entire GCC and parts of North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Last week, heavy storms affected Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, and parts of the Mediterranean. The storms reportedly caused extensive flooding in Tabuk and other areas in north-western Saudi Arabia.

Flash floods stuck the Saudi town of Tabuk on January 28, overwhelming the town and its adjoining cities. The storm system has now moved on further towards the UAE and is also impacting Oman.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah reported scattered rainfall all through the weekend, with drizzling that began on Friday expected to continue until Sunday.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the UAE’s official weather forecaster, reckons another day of cooler temperatures and scattered rain in the country.

“The weather will be hazy and partly cloudy in general, becoming cloudy at times, especially over the northern and the eastern areas, with a chance of some rain, especially during the morning,” reads the NCMS forecast for Sunday.

With mercury already slipping by a few degrees over the weekend, the NCMS expects a further drop in daytime temperatures on Sunday. “Another significant fall in day temperatures is expected over most areas. Winds will be north-westerly, fresh to strong, especially over the sea, causing blowing dust/sand, especially over the internal areas, and reducing the horizontal visibility at times,” the day’s weather forecast for the UAE reads.

As reported by this website yesterday, there are red flags raised on most public beaches in Dubai and other emirates, warning beachgoers to avoid venturing into the sea owing to the rough weather.

“Sea will be rough to very rough in the Arabian Gulf, and rough in Oman sea,” the NCMS predicts for Sunday.

Over the past week, most of the country was blanketed by early-morning fog, which caused a number of accidents and resulted in three people losing their lives as a result.

Authorities are advising drivers to maintain caution while driving as the roads are expected to remain slippery and the weather will remain rough on Sunday.

Rain clouds and the rough weather are expected to move to Oman and then further down to the Arabian Sea over the next couple of days.

2) As murder rate drops, flood levels rise and inundate Baghdad with r... [The Independent; PATRICK COCKBURN; Sunday 3 February 2013]

Torrential rain caused floods all over Baghdad last week. It was not a pleasant sight: as the city's ageing sewage system failed to cope, streets filled with murky grey water that smelled and looked as if it was heavily polluted with raw sewage. Upriver, the Tigris rose 15 feet in five hours, the highest it had been for 50 years, and dozens of villages were inundated.

3) UN Special Representative Kobler shown raw sewage floods on ... [NCR-Iran.org (press release); 31 Jan 2013]

NCRI- Martin Kobler visited Camp liberty on January 30, 2013.  Residents expressed their outrage over the living conditions in Camp liberty, lack of infrastructure, contamination as a result of the overflowing sewage.  The following is the text of the January 30 daily report on Camp Liberty.

Camp Liberty Daily Report, January 30, 2012
This morning [January 30, 2013], in a snap and hasty visit that lasted not more than 40 minutes, SRSG Martin Kobler visited some parts of Camp Liberty, which has been over-flown by sewage as a result of recent flooding. …

[Andrey Eroshin]

Flooding in Iraq villages

TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of villages have been swept by floods in the north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Thursday.

Days of torrential rain in northern and central Iraq caused Tigris' river flood, destroying thousands of houses and sweeping traffic roads and bridges.

"The water in Tigris River rose to more than five meters, which is the highest in the country since more than 50 years," Mahmoud Salih, an expert in water resources, told Xinhua.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/31/c_132142632.htm

[Andrey Eroshin]

Thanks Kojima
See also about Saudi Arabia Floods

10 people died in floods in Saudi Arabia

23.10.12. Flooding caused by heavy rains that hit the area Rabago in the west of Saudi Arabia, killing 10 people, reports UNN referring to Saudi medias.

According to the Office of Civil Defense in Mecca province, so far were found bodies of 10 dead persons, most of them are women and children. Eight people from the victims - family members, their bodies were found inside the car, the road washed away a powerful current. Several people are still reported missing.

http://www.unn.com.ua/en/news/986826-10-people-died-in-floods-in-sa...