Flooding kills 10 in Jeddah

More deaths are feared in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city after heavy downpour.

JEDDAH - Ten people were killed by flooding in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah and more deaths were feared, a civil defense official said after a massive downpour on Wednesday.

"I confirm that it's ten bodies but I can't say anything more for now," the official said, requesting anonymity.

The storm struck the city in western Saudi Arabia in the morning, flooding streets. In one part of the city a bus could be seen submerged in several meters (feet) of water in an underpass.

One person said he had seen several bodies beside another bus that overturned in the storm.

Major roads elsewhere in the city remained gridlocked by traffic late on Wednesday after the rain stopped and floodwaters receded, witnesses said.

Rain also hit the Muslim holy city of Mecca, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Jeddah, where some 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims on Wednesday began the annual hajj season. The downpour did not cause disruption to the pilgrimage.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=35909.