DAMMAM, 18 May 2003 — The residents of the Eastern Province have been virtually forced to remain indoors as severe sandstorms have paralyzed the region for the past three days.
Although the wind is now normal, dust particles in the atmosphere have reduced visibility and, as a result, there has been flight cancellations and delays.
It is expected that the weather will start clearing from today, according to Jabr Al-Dosarry, a Saudi astronomer and meteorologist. He said that sandstorms and dusty weather were normal phenomena at this time of year due to north winds.
However, he admitted that normally such climatic conditions were only for a day or two and the present climatic conditions were not normal. As a result of the dusty weather people in the region remained indoors as much as possible and schools reported low attendance.
The airline industry has been affected by the weather and some international flights were canceled. No domestic flights were canceled but Saudi Arabian Airlines reported flight delays on some routes.
Normal train service to Riyadh continued but there were delayed arrivals and departures. No traffic accidents have been blamed on the weather.
