Hundreds evacuated after weekend rain, snowfall

AMMAN — Hundreds of people were evacuated during the weekend when heavy rainfall sparked flooding of several houses and streets, and snow blocked traffic in mountainous areas, authorities said on Saturday.

By Saturday afternoon, most of the Kingdom's roads were open to traffic, while snow was still falling in the northern and southern regions, according to the Public Security Department (PSD).

"The country's roads are all open to traffic, except for the Ajloun-Irbid road due to snow accumulation and Wadi Al Ghafer road in Ajloun due to flashfloods," Wasfi Otoum, from the PSD's press office, told The Jordan Times.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Hani Mulki decided to delay the start of working hours at government agencies by one hour, to be at 9am, due to the weather conditions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The decision does not apply to agencies required to deal with weather emergencies.

Heavy snow left many people stranded on Friday and Saturday, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said, indicating that it had evacuated more than 350 people by Friday noon.

"Two hundred people returning from Saudi Arabia after performing umra [the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca] got stranded in Karak Governorate's Al Thanyeh area. They were all evacuated and transferred to their homes," an officer at the CDD press department said.

In addition, CDD personnel evacuated 155 people in different parts of the Kingdom, after rainwater flooded their houses, while others were snow-bound, the officer said, indicating that the department has also dealt with nine kidney dialysis cases and two births.

No fatalities were reported during the extreme weather condition, according to the CDD, which noted that heavy rain and strong winds caused the collapse of several walls that damaged vehicles parked nearby.

"People are urged to exercise extreme caution during similar weather conditions and to call the CDD on 911 in case of any emergency," the officer highlighted.

The Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) said on Saturday it received 3,140 calls between 7am of Friday and 2pm of Saturday due to the prevailing weather conditions. 

The company's cadres dealt with 238 power failures during the same period, Petra reported.

EDCO covers the southern governorates of Karak, Tafileh, Maan and Aqaba as well as the eastern areas of the Jordan Valley. 

The Jordanian Electric Power Company said its staff has restored power in 2,494 cases of disruptions in the four central governorates on Friday and Saturday. 

A total of 10,000 patients were treated at Health Ministry hospitals on Friday, Petra reported. 

In the capital, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) said 180 vehicles and machinery are prepared to deal with weather-related emergencies.

"The roads across Amman are all open, and no tunnels were closed, despite heavy rain during the past two days," acting city director Bassam Tarawneh said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

On Friday, Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu'bi visited the CDD and GAM's operations rooms and stressed the need to deal efficiently with any cases of emergency, Petra reported.

The Kingdom began to receive heavy rain from Thursday afternoon, when a very cold air mass and a depression centred over northwest Syria began to take effect.

Temperatures dipped more than seven degrees below their annual average of 12.6ºC for this time of year, Ayman Suboh, a weather forecaster at the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said.

"Rain and light snow, at times, are forecast until tomorrow [Sunday] noon across the country, but the southern region will receive more snow as of today," Suboh said on Saturday.

Data from the JMD's weather stations indicated that the highest snow accumulation was registered in the northwestern Ajloun Governorate's Ras Munif, where it reached 6 centimetres, Suboh said, adding that snow accumulation reached 2 centimetres in Salt in Balqa Governorate, Tafileh, Arrabeh in Karak and the mountains of Amman.

The meteorologist indicated that snow accumulation can be higher in areas where the JMD does not have stations.

"The lowest temperature on Friday night was registered in Tafileh, where it reached -3.6ºC," Suboh said.

"Rain and light snow are still expected for Sunday morning, but by the afternoon, the weather will start to stabilise, as the impact of the combined weather condition gradually subsides," he told The Jordan Times.

The depression brought "sufficient" amounts of rain that ended almost a month-long drought, according to officials at the ministries of water and agriculture, who expressed relief that rain has "returned".

Some 9 million cubic metres (MCM) entered the Kingdom's dams between Friday and Saturday, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, which indicated that half the amount went to the 75-mcm King Talal Dam, which now holds 80 per cent of its total capacity.

"The country's dams now store 151.6mcm or 45.5 per cent of their total capacity of 333.24mcm," Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in an e-mail to The Jordan Times.

Dams are still far behind what they held during this time last year due to the weak performance of this year's wet season, according to officials.

The dams held 176mcm or 52.9 per cent of their capacity during the same period last year, according to the ministry.

Between Thursday and Saturday morning, the country received 677.9mcm of rain, according to the ministry's data, which indicated that the rain over the weekend raised the country's long term annual average of rainfall of 8 billion cubic metres to 54.2 per cent.

The highest amount of rainfall over the weekend was registered in Ajloun, around 70km northwest of Amman, while the lowest was recorded in Aqaba, some 330km south of the capital, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the desert dams now hold 80mcm, according to Nasser, who described the amount as good and said that it will refill aquifers.

The rain has "revived the hopes of cattle breeders and farmers" of a productive season ahead, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

"Rainfall over the past weekend was sufficient and covered most parts of the country. It increased the humidity of the soil, which will in turn increase the production capacity of natural pastures,” the ministry's spokesperson, Nimer Haddadin, told The Jordan Times.

Rain during this time of year is also beneficial for fruit trees and field crops, Haddadin said, underscoring that the soil is now sufficiently humid.