JEDDAH, 1 December 2002 — Thunder showers around noon yesterday flooded many of the city’s major roads and streets throwing traffic out of gear.
Residents woke up to a cloudy morning expecting rain to come down pouring some time during the day. The downpour, lasting 15 to 30 minutes in different parts of the city, was accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning.
Several minor accidents were reported by the Traffic Department and King Khaled National Guard Hospital. “After it rained in Madinah on Friday, there were indications of Jeddah getting its first rain of the season,” said a bank executive at Tahlia Street. Madinah reported heavy rains yesterday as well.
Referring to the most intense 15-minute deluge, Bobby Gelloagan, a Filipino business manager, told Arab News:”There was zero visibility while I was driving in the Al-Hamra area near King Fahd Hospital. It was very hard to see cars driving in front of me.”
“Today’s rain is not unusual. It does rain around this time of the year,” an official at the Meteorological Department said. “In fact, we forecast some more rain,” he added. The rain brought down temperatures and humidity that made the weather pleasant. It followed a day of dust storm in Jeddah and windy weather in Makkah.
Yesterday’s rainfall was so heavy that it instantly flooded all low-lying areas. The worst affected were Palestine and Tahlia streets, and Sharafiah, Aziziah and Faisalia districts. Traffic jams were witnessed in many of the districts.
Several businesses were flooded such as the Computer House Establishment located at the Bugshan shopping complex.”The store was flooded by 10 centimeters of water coming from the drainage pipe located inside the store. The flooding caused about SR3,000 worth of damage. This happens every time it rains,” said an employee of the store.
Palestine road turned into a rivulet with rainwater gushing in great speed. A truck lay overturned and a few cars and trucks broke down and got stranded along the road.
At Tahlia Street, motorists were seen inching their way toward Madinah Road or the Corniche. Madinah Road, especially the stretch between the Pepsi Bridge and Qubri Morabba, was waterlogged with drivers desperately maneuvering their way toward King Abdul Aziz International Airport.
Additional traffic police patrols were assigned to Tahlia Street to discourage speed contests and reckless driving as had become the custom in the past. Many younger drivers have taken advantage of the slippery condition of the road in previous years to engage in skid contests, endangering public safety.
Airlines reported normal schedules despite the rain.
Traffic flows near the flyover at Sharafiah, which had become slow due to the diversion caused by the construction of a new flyover, worsened due to the rain.
Automobile mechanics had a tough time restarting stranded vehicles at different locations. Also busy were towing vehicles and tankers that pumped water off the roads.
Elsewhere, in Mahjer and other districts of south Jeddah, the rain created cesspools providing a source of recreation for children. Some of them were seen enjoying the rain in the open and playing in the ponds created by the rain.
Shopping was affected by rain as not many ventured out. Among the shopping locations affected was downtown Balad which in the past few weeks of Ramadan has been a scene of hectic business activity. Fashionable outlets at Tahlia Street also reported a poor turnout of shoppers.
The rain kept most citizens and expats indoors. The Corniche was bereft of its usual turnout of visitors and campers.
Makkah also experienced heavy rainfall yesterday, a day after a mild drizzle brought the mercury down.
Riyadh reported cloudy weather yesterday but the season’s first rain was still to come. The city experienced a few drizzles this season.
Dammam had two days of heavy downpour this season which left the roads flooded.
There is no drainage system in Saudi Arabia obviously because of the scanty rainfall the desert country receives every year. When it does rain it pours and leaves the streets flooded.Stormwater is usually drained out mechnicall
Rains usually herald the arrival of winter which sets in around mid-December.
