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Rains and floods kill four in Jordan, force tourists to flee Petra

by Reuters
Friday, 9 November 2018 19:01 GMT

AMMAN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Heavy rains and flooding killed at least four people in Jordan and forced authorities to evacuate more then 3,700 tourists from the ancient city of Petra on Friday, officials said.

The visitors were taken to safe areas before flash floods inundated parts of the mountainous city famed for its carved rock ruins, government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat said.

Authorities declared a state of emergency in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba further south as downpours started in the afternoon.

Civil defence divers searched for five people whose car was swept by floods in the Madaba area, southwest of the capital, state news agency Petra said.

A major highway that links Amman with the south was also closed. Two weeks ago, 21 people, mainly children, died after they were swept away in flash floods on a school outing in the Dead Sea region, in one of the country's worst natural disasters in decades.

Politicians and members of the public criticised the emergency services at the time, saying crews had been unprepared, and two ministers were forced to resign after a parliamentary committee found negligence.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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