Rains wreak havoc in Makkah, Hail

[email protected] (Arab News)
May 10, 2014

Makkah_HailMakkah/Hail, May 10: Floods caused by torrential rain swept through parts of Makkah and Hail on Thursday killing two people and injuring several others.

The flooding also caused power cuts and damaged hundreds of cars across Makkah neighborhoods, according to eyewitnesses.

Thousands of Umrah pilgrims were stranded inside the Grand Mosque after Maghrib, many only able to reach their accommodation after midnight, according to eyewitnesses. Worshippers prayed Isha in the heavy rain.

The Civil Defense in Hail said five brothers driving in a four-wheel-drive vehicle tried to cross the flooded Al-Khafj Valley. The force of the water overturned their vehicle.

Maj. Nafea bin Alian Al-Makhalafa, media spokesperson of the Civil Defense in Hail, said that one brother had rescued three of his brothers. The fifth brother was trapped inside the vehicle and drowned.

Brig. Col. Saleh Al-Alyani, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Makkah, said an African expatriate died in Mansour district when a tree fell on him. The police are investigating, he said.

Al-Alyani said the organization's operations room received 1,356 emergency calls, mostly about cars caught up in the floods, falling trees and power cuts. A special operations room has been set up in Makkah to monitor the situation and coordinate relief and evacuation efforts, he said.

The Civil Defense deployed helicopters, 23 patrols and 16 rescue teams with heavy machinery for emergency operations. It also sent 32 officers and six staff members on motorbikes to the Grand Mosque to assist pilgrims.

The Saudi Electricity Company said its engineers and technicians were monitoring the situation in Makkah.

Mohammed Abdul Raheem, a pilgrim, said. “It was extremely pleasurable to perform Tawaf amid the heavy rain and thunder.”

The courtyards of the Grand Mosque were deserted. This included the area popular with pilgrims outside King Abdulaziz Gate. There was not a single person sitting or sleeping there, said Mohammed Akbar Abubaker, who works and lives opposite the Grand Mosque in Makkah. He told Arab News that the rainfall was unusual for this time of the year.

Part of the roof of a leading hypermarket inside the Makkah Mall collapsed but no one was hurt, according to eyewitness Mohammed Hammed. He told Arab News that his friend's car was swept away by floodwaters at Souk Hijaz shopping mall on Jeddah Road.

The flooding also damaged hundreds of cars in other parts of Makkah including Sharayah, Aziziyah, Misfalah, and Otaibiah, according to residents of these areas who spoke over the phone.

The Jeddah-Makkah Expressway was briefly closed on Thursday night because of the flooding. The highway to Riyadh near Hada Mountain remained closed on Friday as a precautionary measure.

The Civil Defense warned that there was a possibility of more rain, thunder and lightning across Makkah, Jeddah and Hail, and urged the public to be alert.

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News Network
February 29,2020

Mysuru, Feb 29: More than 7,000 industrialists and entrepreneurs have left the country due to a deficit of trust, and incidents like the violence that rocked northeast Delhi will only affect the economy further, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of Art of Living Foundation, said on Friday.

Sri Sri was speaking at a corporate wellness conference on the theme, 'Wellness and Wellbeing for a Progressive Nation', hosted by CII in Mysuru. He said an atmosphere of fear and mistrust pervades the country and does not augur well for the economy.

"Bankers, too, are suspicious of everyone and not extending loans to industrialists. This has posed lots of problems," he said. "This attitude among bank officials should go as life depends on trust. When there is a deficiency of trust, there is a possibility of the economy slowing down," Sri Sri added

He said society is now facing two important issues - aggression and depression. "Some people stage protests and pelt stones which happened recently in Delhi. This is really unfortunate," he said, adding, "Fear lurks in the nation's capital, which is being used by many to create terror. This will affect the economy. No country will prosper without peace."

Wellness is the need of the hour, he said, adding, "Corporates used to spend half their health to gain wealth and spend half their wealth to regain their health. This isn't good economics. We have to talk and convince people to invest in wellness."

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News Network
March 29,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 29: The State government launched a mobile application for people to track the movement history of patients, who tested positive, before their detection so that they can take precautions. The app will give the date and time of visit to spots by the patients.

The mobile app “Corona Watch” can be downloaded from Google Playstore https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ksrsac.drawshapefile

“The app also has a list of government designated first response hospitals for COVID-19 where citizen with symptoms can go. However, before going to a COVID hospital, people should call helplines — 104, 080-46848600 or 080-66692000,” said a message by Munish Moudgil, secretary, Administrative Reforms, who is also in-charge of the State COVID war room.

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News Network
March 21,2020

Kasaragod, Mar 21: The lack of self-restraint and social distancing by people here, the ones who come from the Middle East regions, in particular, has been a cause of concern for the district authorities who have time and again been reiterating the need to follow tips from health authorities to counter the spread of Novel Coronavirus.

But as things are feared to go out of control, the district authorities including the Collector Dr. Sajith Babu have come out to the streets and bazaars only to impose social distancing instructions now in place in the district strictly since six more persons have been tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.

According to health authorities, the new cases were caused by a few people who recently returned from abroad and who did not follow the self-quarantine measures.

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