Man dies and teenager missing as flash floods hit Jordan after heavy rain
Civil defence officers are ‘combing the area looking for the child’ in the north of Jordan’s second city, Zarqa
A man has died after his car was swept away by flash floods in Jordan.
Authorities said a teenager is also missing following heavy rain and flooding in southern and eastern parts of the country. Jordan’s state television reported that a man, believed to be in his thirties, was driving on Sunday evening in Al Shamiyah, in the north-east of Aqaba, when his car was swept away.
A 13-year-old went missing yesterday following similar weather in the north of Jordan’s second city, Zarqa.
Civil defence officers are “combing the area looking for the child,” state TV reported.
Omar, a resident of Zarqa, said some cars were swept off the roads after brief but heavy rain in the morning.
“The hail broke some cars’ windows,” he said.
Jordan, one of the world’s most arid countries, sometimes experiences flash flooding in the spring.
Poor infrastructure often results in rapid accumulation of water in the streets.
The rain on Sunday came after weeks of heavy dust and dry conditions across much of the kingdom.
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation said levels of water in dams across the country had risen by 22 per cent in 24 hours, but that they remain only 47 per cent full.
The Ministry of Public Works said it reopened several roads in the south of Jordan, which had been closed overnight.
The ministry advised people travelling on motorways in the south to “take care and caution because of impaired visibility caused by heavy rain in some areas”.
Residents said the weather there had mostly cleared by the end of the day.
Southern Jordan is home to the Roman city of Petra and the desert valley of Wadi Rum – two of the kingdom’s most visited attractions.
International travel to Jordan
Levels in dams across the kingdom had risen by 22 per cent, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said
has increased considerably over the past decade, as upheaval swept through Syria and Lebanon.
The majority of visitors are interested in hiking in Wadi Rum or visiting the Nabataean ruins of Petra, a major trading centre before it was overrun by the Romans.
Kamel, a guide in Wadi Rum, told The National that despite heavy rain on Sunday morning, a significant number of tourists visited the site.
“The rain stopped quickly,” he said.
Government data shows that the number of foreign visitors to Petra quadrupled in the past year to 670,000.