Heavy rain hit several parts of Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon/evening on 12th April 2016 killing 18 people.
Districts such as Rowaida, Muzzamiyah and Faisaliah in Riyadh were particularly hard hit and the Civil Defence rescued 26 people and pulled out 56 vehicles trapped in the floods.
The Meteorological department issued a warning about more rain in the city over the next few days. Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar held an emergency meeting with relevant agencies to discuss the warning. He instructed officials to be ready for any emergencies and urged citizens and residents to be cautious. A business executive advised the local newspaper that the 60-minute downpour hit a part of the Faisaliah District, which crippled all business activities in addition to flooding many warehouses.
“The damage caused to the important business hub is immense. The roads remain impassable and many workers are stuck in their workplaces”.
The Education Department decided that all schools in the Riyadh region would be closed on Wednesday 13th April. Other parts of the Kingdom were also badly affected with Madinah topping the list of worst hit cities. The holy city reported three deaths and 40 injuries due to 20 road accidents in a period of 12 hours after the rains commenced at approximately 7 a.m.
Al Hajira Highway saw the largest number of accidents, followed by the Yanbu Highway, Al-Qassim Highway, Roads inside Madinah, Al-Mahd Road (Gharab) and the Tabuk Highway.
Abha witnessed the collapse of a bridge which was under construction closing the Riyadh-Abha road and King Abdullah Road towards Rafidah. The traffic department warned motorists not to use these roads and follow instructions from the traffic department. Most streets in Khamis Mushayt were inundated, trapping vehicles on the streets.
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