At least one person was killed and hundreds rescued on Wednesday after severe flooding in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region.
Videos and photos emerging online of the floods show fast-moving currents sweeping away cars and motorists stranded in water.
The Civil Defense said an individual had died and ten others injured in Asir.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense said that 10 others were injured and over 280 people were rescued while dealing with more than 900 emergency calls in the southern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushayt.
Many schools were closed following the severe rainstorms.
Areas across Saudi Arabia experience severe flash floods when seasonal rains unleash a downpour of water on normally dry terrain.
Officials urged citizens to take caution, and avoid going near valleys that could threaten their safety.
Saudi authorities begin to clean up after rains cause flooding.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over half of all flood-related drownings in the U.S. occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water.
“People underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in automobiles as they are swept downstream. Of these drownings, many are preventable, but too many people continue to drive around the barriers that warn you the road is flooded. A mere 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away a small car, while 2 feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles,” the U.S. National Weather Service says.
Floods ripped through valleys in Asir, Saudi Arabia.
