The holy city of Makkah and its suburban areas received medium rains on Wednesday where the Civil Defense had taken precautionary measures to deal with any floods or accidents. The rain did not disrupt prayers at the Grand Mosque.

Lt. Col. Ali Al-Muntashri, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Makkah, said his department had implemented an emergency plan to deal with possible flashfloods. “So far, we have not received any reports about rain-related accidents,” he said.

Maj. Fowzi Al-Ansari, spokesman for the Traffic Department, said his department had deployed a large number of officers along the roads and squares of the holy city to control traffic.
“We had identified some dangerous spots and appointed more personnel there to ensure a smooth flow of traffic,” Al-Ansari said.

He added that all traffic lights in the city have been working properly and that no power cuts have been reported.
Al-Ansari said his organization has been coordinating with the municipality to remove water from inundated roads.
The Grand Mosque was full of worshippers on Wednesday with a large number of people from other parts of the Kingdom and abroad arriving for Umrah and prayers.

The holy city saw sandstorms on Monday and Tuesday lowering visibility. This, however, did not cause any major road accidents.

Arab news