TURAIF, Northern Borders — Heavy rains and floods ravaged several parts of the Kingdom since Monday with several people killed and many others missing, the local newspapers reported. The Northern Border Province was especially hit with at least six people killed and several others injured. Many people were reported missing. Schools remained closed in the region. A woman and her two children drowned in Wadi Shuaib, about 10 km west of Turaif, when their car was swept away by flash floods. According to the Civil Defense, the father and two of the children were rescued and a search was still ongoing for two other missing children. The Civil Defense said the family's car, carrying a man, his wife and six children, broke down in the valley before it was swept away by strong currents. Capt. Fahd Al-Asmar, spokesman for the Civil Defense, said the man called his brother for help but the car overturned several times in the floodwater and disappeared before rescue teams reached the scene. The man and his two children were taken to the general hospital while his wife and his two dead children were buried in the city's graveyard. A search was continuing for two missing children. The spokesman said the Civil Defense used helicopters, rescue boats and divers fin the search for the victims. Al-Asmar said when the Civil Defense teams arrived at the scene, they found the mother and two children already dead in the car. The father and two of the children were pulled out of the car and were still alive. Al-Qurrayat, in Al-Jouf region in the north, also witnessed heavy rains followed by torrential floods. The rains came in the wake of dusty winds, which broke a number car windshields and kept residents at home. Heavy rains were also reported in the western coastal region of Qunfudah and the central region of Hail since Monday. Rains were also reported in Taymah and Halat Ammar in the northern province of Tabuk on Tuesday and Wednesday.
