MAKKAH: Civil Defense teams in Makkah recovered the body of a man and rescued several people in flooded areas after heavy rain here on Sunday.

Naif Al-Shareef, spokesman for the Civil Defense, said officers found the body of the missing man in Wadi Al-Miqreh in Al-Omrah neighborhood. The man had been there with his friends. Four others were rescued in Wadi Al-Maghmas and a family stranded in the Al-Nawariyah neighborhood.

Most of the calls received by the Civil Defense involved no casualties or damage. Brig. Gen. Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Al-Dleiwi, director of the Civil Defense in Makkah, led the operations until the early hours of Monday morning, Al-Shareef was quoted as saying in a local publication.

Rain accompanied by thunderstorms and powerful winds caused electricity blackouts, the Saudi Electricity Company said in a statement. However, teams of technicians restored power shortly afterward, the company said.

Heavy rain fell for two hours in the southern parts of Makkah including Al-Husayniyah, Wadi Malkan, Al-Awali, Al-Shoqiya, Al-Sharae’, the holy sites, Al-Omar and Al-Nawariya. It included Al-Jamoum governorate and its surrounding villages, Bahra governorate, Wahdaa’, Wadi Fatima and Wadi Allaf.

Makkah’s traffic department dispatched several field teams to monitor traffic flow and deal with congestion resulting from signals breaking down at certain intersections, said Capt. Ali Al-Zahrani, spokesman of the department.

Makkah municipality dispatched cleaning teams with specialized machinery to remove waste from main roads and those leading to the central area.