Kingdom reels from damage in wake of ‘dragon’ cold front

AMMAN — The cold front dubbed “the dragon” that impacted the Kingdom on Thursday and continued through Saturday morning caused infrastructure damage, house flooding, rerouting of flights and suspension of classes and exams at schools and universities.

On Saturday morning, Civil Defence Department (CDD) divers found the body of an 11-year-old child who drowned in the Wadi Dleil torrent after heavy rainfall near the Khaldeyeh area in Mafraq.

The divers retrieved the body after a six-hour search and transferred it to the Mafraq Public Hospital, according to a Public Security Department (PSD) statement.

On Friday at dawn, King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba redirected four flights to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman due to low visibility in Aqaba. 

Director of King Hussein International Airport Nasser Majali said that two flights landed safely at dawn, one from Turkey and one from Russia, noting that all cadres at the airport operated according to the emergency plan for such weather conditions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The Jordan Maritime Commission suspended marine traffic at the Aqaba Port until the weather conditions improved, Petra reported. 

The commission’s Director General Mohammad Salman said that the control centre operates round-the-clock to deal with any emergencies, noting that some ships docked at the port were cleared, and ships and boats were banned from sailing due to inclement weather conditions. 

The PSD announced that up until 6pm on Friday, the CDD had dealt with 300 flash floods around the Kingdom, rescuing 637 people stranded by flooding in their houses, vehicles or tents, and transporting them to safe areas. 

Due to the brisk winds, the CDD also dealt with flying objects, such as water containers, roof covers and trees, in addition to six instances of walls collapsing due to the severity of the rain.

The police urged the public to contact 911 to report emergencies and to avoid low areas where torrents formed.

In Zarqa, the heavy rainfall at dawn on Friday caused flooding in seven houses and two shops, with damages estimated at around JD30,000 to JD50,000, Petra said, noting that no injuries were reported.

Zarqa Mayor Nidal Awadat said that the two shops flooded by rainwater were a car parts store and a water desalination station. The people whose houses were flooded were transported to a safe area, he said. 

The large water influx in the Zarqa River caused an 82-metre municipality wall next to it to crumble, which is valued at JD120,000, Petra reported, noting that the basement of a building was flooded as well.

Ruseifa Mayor Osama Haymour said that the municipality cadres pumped the water out of the basement using specialised motors.

Water flooded 19 houses in Ruseifa, while brisk winds knocked down trees, cutting electricity cords and causing a power outage, Haymour said, noting that the electricity company resolved the matter, according to Petra.

The Education Ministry opened schools around the Kingdom as shelters for those whose properties were damaged by the weather conditions.

Director of the National Aid Fund in northern Ghor Fatima Bsharat said that since Thursday evening, six families comprising 56 members were evacuated from their houses, Petra reported.

Work is ongoing, she noted, to rent houses for the families, who are currently being hosted by a charitable organisation.

The Youth Ministry also evacuated 49 Syrians whose tents in Madaba were flooded and provided them with housing at Prince Hashem Youth City. 

Youth Minister Fares Breizat supervised the evacuations and instructed the ministry cadres to provide the evacuees with the necessary support, Petra reported. 

The Agriculture Ministry said that its emergency room dealt with 650 cases of falling trees, 237 of which fell on electricity cables, 170 on the side of the road and 243 on private lands.