JEDDAH, Feb 1 (Arab News): A massive dust storm hit Jeddah Tuesday, disrupting road traffic and bringing public life almost to a standstill. Many schools suspended classes and informed parents to take their kids home well before the school day had ended, while some school authorities have declared there will be no classes on Wednesday.
There were reports of intense traffic jams and minor collisions caused by poor visibility from various parts of the city. Civil Defense units have swung into action to tackle several accidents such as collisions and trees falling on vehicles.
A large number of people stayed indoors as they were afraid of a possible repeat of the flood disaster that turned into a catastrophe in several parts of the city in 2009 and 2011.
Most parts of the city were buffeted by dust storms from early morning itself and that continued unabated until the evening. The dust storms turned the skyline in Jeddah brown for most of the daytime. Some of those who ventured outdoors wore face masks or kept handkerchiefs over their noses and mouths.
The Civil Defense units had a tough time coping with increasing numbers of accidents.
Arab News witnessed the falling of a tree on a school bus in the Faisaliya district. The bus was parked on a roadside behind Erfan Bagedo Hospital at the end of a school trip. The local authorities are compiling the figures of accidents and losses caused by dust storms at the time Arab News was going to press.
Othman Basaqar, former assistant secretary of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Arab News that unstable weather conditions created fear among Jeddawis who are still recovering from the devastating flood disasters. “The dust storms affected the city’s commercial and tourism activities badly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), confirmed Jeddah and several other regions in the Kingdom experienced unstable weather conditions on Tuesday. These regions included the coastal areas of Makkah and Madinah regions as well as Riyadh province, the Northern Borders and the northern part of the Eastern Province such as Hafar Al-Batin and Al-Qaisuma.
He said the bad weather following heavy sandstorms from some parts of the Asian and African continents would continue hitting various regions of the Kingdom until Thursday.
The PME also predicted thunderstorms followed by rainfall in several regions. Jeddah and many regions in the western, northern and central parts of the Kingdom were gripped by a cold snap for several days during the last week of December.