
Described as the worst in 27 years, flooding killed at least 77 people in Jeddah Wednesday after a heavy downpour, a Civil Defense statement said Thursday. Authorities identified 21 bodies, for Saudis, and handed them over to their families. The downpour paralyzed the entire city, just two days ahead of the Eid holidays, leaving the citys shaky infrastructure crippled, perhaps for years to come. The Jamia (University) Bridge on the Haramain Highway, in eastern Jeddah, partially collapsed and was closed to traffic. A few old houses in the Jamia District collapsed as well. Motorists on the Haramain Highway were stranded for hours after the heavy downpour. The eastern districts of Jeddah including Abruq Al-Raghamah, Al-Ajawid, Al-Samir, and Al-Tawfiq were completely cut off from the rest of the city. The downpour continued until late afternoon. Part of the highway which links King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAAIA) and Makkah caved in due to heavy floods coming from scattered valleys east of Jeddah. Traffic coming from the south on the highway was completely halted, while the flow of traffic from the airport to the south was crippled just a few meters from the King Abdullah Bridge, about one km from the partially collapsed bridge. The storm also left thousands of pilgrims stranded in buses headed from Jeddah to Makkah for the first full day of the Haj. The Jeddah-Makkah Highway was closed to traffic as accidents were reported on the 80-km stretch. Were stuck because of <b>...</b>
jeddah
flood
jamia
saudi
arabia