Tourists flee as flash floods roar through ancient city of Petra, and four die elsewhere in Jordan
- Video shows torrent rushing through the narrow canyon leading to the main tourist site in Petra, the Treasury building
Flash floods caused by heavy rain across Jordan killed four people on Friday and forced hundreds of tourists to seek higher ground in the kingdom’s ancient city of Petra, government officials said.
About two dozen people were hurt and dozens more evacuated from their homes in several locations in the kingdom, as floodwaters rose rapidly.
Amateur video posted online showed a powerful torrent rushing through the narrow canyon through which visitors reach the Treasury, the main attraction of Petra, an ancient trading hub carved from rose-coloured rock.
The video showed several hundred visitors crowded on a patch of higher ground near the Treasury as local guides helped one woman through surging water toward safety.
“We made it,” she shouted as she rejoined her group.
Such canyons, known as wadis, can be dangerous in rains, as the lack of soil or plantlife to arrest the water causes them to flood quickly.