At least 12 dead in sudden floods in Jordan

Notimex

At least 12 people died and 29 others were injured by sudden floods in Jordan, which forced authorities to evacuate more than 3,500 tourists from the ancient city of Petra and other popular destinations.

Two weeks after 21 people, most of them children on school trips to the Dead Sea region, were victims of sudden floods, Jordan is experiencing a similar tragedy caused by heavy rains in the country. .

Jordan's Minister of Information Jumana Ghunaimat confirmed Saturday the number of flood victims in the central and southern parts of the country since Friday afternoon, and said the rescue teams were still searching for information. people. faded away.

Ghunaimat said in a statement issued by the official Petra news agency that seven people are reported to have died in Madaba, four in the Dhaba region and another in the Ma region.

He added that search and rescue efforts continued because eight of the 14 missing persons have still not been found, including a girl dragged by the floods in the Walla region, south of Madaba.

In addition, the minister said relief agencies were striving to reach the site where he was identified that there are six missing in the Ma'an region, in the Al Jafr region.

Thousands of people were rescued from several flooded areas and more than 3,500 visitors were evacuated from the city of Petra and other tourist destinations when the Jordanian government declared the state of emergency to to face the disaster.

The country 's primary and upper secondary schools suspended their classes on Saturday because of severe weather conditions, while residents of the areas adjacent to the dams were warned to take precautions and stay away from the valleys.

The severe floods on Friday affected the Mao governorate, the Wadi Mousa region, Petra, Madaba and other parts of Jordan, after heavy rains fell throughout the kingdom.

Meteorological experts have estimated that the tragedies in Jordan are the result of poor infrastructure and climate change, as they have experienced rains and floods where they have never occurred in the Middle East. Countries are not ready to face these natural disasters. .

Recently, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar have also experienced heavy rains, which could mark the beginning of a gradual upward trend, experts said.