Flash floods in Jordan kill nine people

Nine people were killed on Friday in Jordan after torrential rains swept across several parts of the country, according to Al Arabiya news channel correspondent.

Jordanian authorities asked residents of low-lying areas threatened by floods to evacuate and said that schools will serve as shelters for those who evacuated.

The Jordanian government also evacuated 90% of valleys inhabitants in the governorate of Mafraq and sent planes, boats, and soldiers to help in the search operations for missing residents.

The Jordanian civil defense rescued a young girl and recovered the body of her sister after heavy flash floods swept their father’s vehicle in the Malih area of the governorate of Madaba, while 11 others were injured in different areas of the country.

A spokesman for the Civil Defense Iyad al-Amro, told Al Arabiya that members of the Civil Defense were searching for three other missing members of the surviving child’s family.

Jumana Ghunaimat, Minister of State for Media Affairs and government spokesperson, said that the security departments are coordinating the rescue operations in more than one area which had heavy rainfall, noting that 3,762 tourists were evacuated in the city of Petra in southern Jordan.

The southern part of Jordan witnessed flash floods due to torrential rain, especially in the areas of Maan, Wadi Musa, Petra tourist city, and the provinces of Madaba and al-Balqa.

The Minister of the Interior, the Minister of State for Public Information, the Government’s spokesperson and other senior officials gathered at the National Center for Security and Crisis Management to monitor the situation.

On October, 25, at least 18 people, mainly schoolchildren and teachers, were killed in a flash flood near Jordan’s Dead Sea that happened while they were on an outing, rescuers and hospital workers said. Read more