Saudi floods kill 77 while Muslims perform hajj

By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Writer

MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia – Muslim pilgrims holding white umbrellas against the blazing sun clambered up a rocky desert hill for prayers Thursday during the annual hajj, following a day of torrential rains that killed at least 77 people.

Flooding from the unusually heavy downpours hit hardest in the Red Sea coastal city of Jiddah, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) away from the holy city of Mecca and its surrounding sacred sites where the 3 million Muslims from around the world were performing the rites of the pilgrimage.

Most of the deaths occurred in Jiddah, where streets were swamped with water, some houses collapsed and mudslides took place, and in areas around the main highway to Mecca, Civil Defense officials said.

It did not immediately appear that any pilgrims were among the dead. Jiddah's civil defense chief Capt. Abdullah al-Amri said 21 of the victims were identified as Saudis and the rest were believed to be residents of Saudi Arabia.

Wednesday's downpours snarled the opening day of the hajj, drenching pilgrims and knocking out roads that caused epic traffic jams as the faithful tried to make their way to the holy sites. The rains, if they continue as meteorologists predict, could raise safety hazards — particularly the perennial danger of deadly stampedes, since a trip-up on slippery walkways could lead to people getting trampled in crowds.

But skies cleared for most of Thursday, and the heat rose. The umbrellas that protected pilgrims from the rain now were shades from the hot sun as they conducted their rituals in the desert plateau of Mount Arafat, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) east of Mecca.

The site is where Islam's Prophet Muhammad delivered his farewell sermon. The faithful climbed up the Mountain of Mercy, a rocky hill at Arafat, and prayed for God's forgiveness of their sins in what Muslims consider the spiritual high point of the pilgrimage.

Afterward, they prepared to head for the nearby plains of Muzdalifah, where they will pick stones for the next step in the hajj: Starting Friday, they will pelt stones at three walls representing the devil in a symbolic rejection of temptation. The stoning takes place for three days in the mountain valley of Mina, until the end of hajj on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia's biggest worry for months ahead of the hajj has been swine flu. The pilgrimage is one of the most crowded in the world, with the masses of Muslims from every corner of the globe packed shoulder to shoulder in prayers and rites — a perfect incubator for the virus, according to epidemiologists.

The Saudi government has been working with the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to set up clinics and take precautions to stem any outbreak.

It often rains in Mecca and Jiddah during the winter months, but Wednesday's downpour was the heaviest in years during the hajj. Jiddah was swamped with 7 centimeters (2.76 inches) of rain, more than it would normally get in an entire year, according to Dale Mohler, senior meteorologist at the Web site, AccuWeather.com.