DHAKA: At least seven people died and many others were injured or trapped by heavy rain and floods that swept various regions of Saudi Arabia.
Press reports said on Tuesday, Al Arabiya publishes this report on Wednesday (November 30).
The dead included three young Saudi men in Bisha, two others in Baha and two expatriates who were struck by a thunderbolt in Qunfudah.
Torrential floods also destroyed a number of houses, blocked roads and overturned vehicles. The rain and floods in the last few days uncovered the ineffective drainage systems in many parts of the country.
The two expatriates were killed by a thunderbolt, which also injured two of their companions in Qunfudah governorate in Makkah province. Civil Defense teams rushed the victims to hospital.
The rain inundated various parts of Qunfudah governorate and washed away large sections of the International Road linking Jeddah and Jazan.
Heavy rain lashed Bisha for more than three hours. Three people were killed and two others injured in a traffic accident in the city.
The rain flooded Wadi Houran, in the southwest of the governorate, causing cracks in the road leading to Arar in the north of the Kingdom. The rain also caused a number of cars to overturn or skid off roads.
The traffic department warned citizens and expatriates against going out during heavy rain. Police said a number of traffic accidents took place in the region but there were no deaths or serious injuries.
In Mahayil Asir, students of an elementary school were trapped for three hours in Wadi Mumadad. Their school suspended classes. Many other schools in the region did the same after receiving warnings of heavy rain from the Presidency of Meteorology and Environmental Protection.
Asir Civil Defense spokesman Col. Mohammed Al-Asmi said an Egyptian was rescued from Wadi Zura in Al-Bark governorate. He was reported to be in good health.
The Civil Defense also hauled a vehicle that was trapped in Al-Lahman Valley. There were also landslides on Bark-Mahayil Asir Road.
BDST: 1526 HRS, NOV 30, 2016
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