Heavy rain and flash floods in Saudi Arabia and Oman between 08 and 10 April have left 5 people dead and several villages cut off.
Weather forecasts suggest that a slow moving area of low pressure could bring further heavy rain, thunderstorms and flash flooding to wide areas of the Middle East later this week.
Saudi Arabia
Torrential rain wreaked havoc in many parts of Saudi Arabia, especially the southern region, over the weekend. Streets and low-lying areas have been inundated and at least three deaths have been reported.
A father and his two sons were swept way by flood water in the Al-Baidhani valley of Asir region. The Civil Defense found their bodies in a 15-hour search operation in the Al-Qarnata valley.
Floods caused severe damage to buildings and vehicles in Baha and Taif, and several villages in the east of Traj valley have been isolated by the flooding.
Oman
Northern parts of Oman experienced several days of heavy rain which was brought by a deep depression late last week.
Two people were killed when their vehicle was swept away by flood waters in Wadi Kabeel of Qurayat province on Friday 08 April, 2016, local media reported.
Three other people were rescued in Wadi Bani Karoos in the Dhank province according to the Public Authority for Civil Defense and Ambulance (PACDA).
A new flash flood alert system is set to launch in Oman in July this year.
Further Flash Flooding Forecast
Accuweather say that thunderstorms and flash flooding are likely across wide areas of the Middle East later this week. Accuweather say:
A slow-moving storm system will lead to flash flooding across the Middle East during much of this week. The threat for flooding will extend from Iraq and western Iran into Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
As low pressure slowly tracks from the western Mediterranean Sea towards the northern Persian Gulf this week, widespread thunderstorms will ignite across the region. Heavy rain will trigger flash flooding across several areas.
