- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:36 05:52 12:21 15:49 18:45 20:02
Update: The death toll from two days of rains and flooding in western Saudi Arabia rose to at least eight on Wednesday, including three children, public safety officials said.
Most of the fatalities came in the Madina area, in the kingdom's west, where five bodies were recovered, the civil defence agency said.
Among the victims were two children, it said.
On Tuesday, civil defence said two people were electrocuted in Jeddah, the kingdom's second-largest city, and an 11-year-old boy drowned in Yanbu further north.
With fears of more rain, the education department announced that Jeddah schools, shut since Tuesday, will stay closed until Thursday.
Floods killed 123 people in the Red Sea city in 2009, and about 10 people two years later.
The latest inundation led to barbed comments on social media, where users posted pictures of flooding at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport, which is undergoing a major expansion.
Eight domestic flights were delayed there on Tuesday because of the rains.
Earlier story: Two men died within half an hour of each other after they were electrocuted by rain water surrounding a power pole in Saudi Arabia, newspapers reported on Wednesday.
A 23-year-old Yemeni man, identified as Nasser, was on his way back home from the nearby shop in the Western Red Sea port of Jeddah when he passed through the water-filled ground near the power pole during a rainy day.
'Sabq' newspapers quoted witnesses and his father as saying he collapsed and fell dead just as he stepped into the water.
His body remained there for nearly half an hour before it was noticed by an Indonesian building watchman, who rushed to rescue him, the paper said.
“As he came near the body, the Indonesian was electrocuted and fell dead near that body. Civil defence said that the rain water was electrified by the power pole,” it said.
It quoted the building owner as saying the Indonesian watchman had worked for him for nearly 30 years and had just returned to Saudi Arabia from a vacation at home.
Heavy, heavy rain
Heavy rain and thunderstorms have lashed Jeddah and other Saudi cities over the past three days, causing floods and damage to property in many areas.
At least three people died and flights were delayed during heavy rain that fell on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, officials said as the desert nation braced for a cool snap.
Two people in the Red Sea city of Jeddah were electrocuted, and an 11-year-old boy drowned in Yanbu further north, the civil defence agency said.
Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport said eight domestic flights were delayed ‘due to the rainy weather conditions in Jeddah.’
One international flight was diverted to Medina, it added in a statement, without giving more details.
"Air traffic is now back to normal," the airport said.
Some streets in Jeddah, the kingdom's second-largest city, were flooded.
A picture posted by the civil defence agency showed water over the wheels of cars in one Jeddah location, but elsewhere it covered only the feet of firefighters.
The government urged Jeddah residents to stay home, and reportedly gave children there a day off school on Tuesday.
"The next few hours will see more moderate rains in Jeddah and its northern areas," said Hussein Al Qahtani, a weather department spokesman.
Even heavier rains fell in the northwestern city of Tabuk, near Jordan, where 46 millimetres (1.8 inches) were recorded since Monday, Qahtani said.
Following cool winds, moderate to heavy rains would on Wednesday move east to the Riyadh region and other areas, he told Al Ekhbaria television news channel.
Saudi officials say two people were killed when they were electrocuted by a downed lamp post in Jeddah as severe thunderstorms forced schools and universities to suspend classes in the western city and nearby Makkah.
Two children are missing in the northwestern province of Ha'il, while a third child was rescued in a flooded valley there.
Saudi Arabia's emergency response crews are advising residents to stay indoors as heavy rains pound areas along the kingdom's Red Sea coastline. The area experienced deadly floods in 2009.
Saudis took to social media to share videos and pictures of flooded streets and high winds, which are expected to last until Wednesday.
The National Center for Meteorology and Seismology in the UAE says rain is expected on Friday.
Floods killed 123 people in Jeddah in 2009, and about 10 people two years later.
EARLIER REPORT
Saudi braces for thunderstorms; UAE next, says NCMS [video]
Saudi Arabia is bracing for heavy rains and thunderstorms along the kingdom’s Red Sea coastline, reported Metronews.ca.
Areas most likely to experience rainfall include the western regions of Makkah and Madinah and the northern regions of Tabuk and Al-Jawf, the report added.
As precautionary measure, schools in the area are closed today. While, motorists are advised to exercise caution as dust storms could make driving ‘dangerous’.
Thunderstorms are also expected in Southwestern Iraq and Eastern Jordan, according to the report.
UAE residents should brace themselves for another round of showers, as a low pressure system moves in from Saudi Arabia to encompass the rest of the Gulf region.
The UAE’s National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) has stated an increase of convective clouds on Thursday could make way for more rainfall by the weekend.
Speaking with Emirates 24|7, a spokesperson for the NCMS stated: "A low pressure system over north western Saudi Arabia has seen rise to excessive rainfall and thunderstorms in the region.
"Over the next few days, the depression will move eastwards, giving rise to convective clouds of the eastern region by the afternoon, with increased cover over the western region by night, along with the islands.
"This weather is likely to give way to rainfall by Friday."
Saudi Arabia is reporting floods and heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours with thunderstorms affecting areas including Makkah, Yanbu and Tabuk.
Videos posted on social media show cars submerged in water, with flash floods reported in wadis in the northern western part of the country.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
