Heavy rain closes schools and universities in Saudi Arabia

Classes moved online for Monday due to bad weather

Heavy rain in Jeddah last month. Another deluge has hit the region, as well as other parts of Saudi Arabia. Reuters

Schools and universities will remain closed in Jeddah on Monday due to heavy rain across Saudi Arabia.

In-person classes will remain suspended in all schools in Jeddah, Rabigh and Khulais, the Ministry of Education announced on Sunday. Teachers and pupils will switch to online classes.

"We are used to teaching online due to Covid-19 and in a way, it has helped us embrace technology, no matter where we are — in a city or village — to ensure no child goes without education, no matter how remote the location or what the cause is," Madiha Ismail, a teacher in Jeddah, told The National.

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) issued an alert on Sunday evening that moderate to heavy rain will hit parts of the Makkah region until 10am local time on Monday.

"We received a message from the ministry last night and messaged all parents and staff that classes will be held online for today as we were expecting heavy rains and flooding, similar to what we experienced earlier this month," said Samira Mohammed, a primary school head teacher in Jeddah. "Luckily, rain stopped early this morning and we are back to sunny skies."

Makkah's General Directorate of Education said classes at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, would remain suspended on Monday due to the heavy rain.

Hammoud Al Soqairan, spokesman for the General Directorate of Education in the Jeddah governorate, said the decision to cancel classes was based on reports received from the NCM, to ensure safety of pupils and staff.

Online classes will be conducted through the “Madrasati platform” for all pupils.

NCM forecasts state that fog will form in parts of the regions of Riyadh, Hail, Al Jouf, and northern parts of the kingdom.

Rain is expected in Makkah, Jeddah, Al-Jumum, Bahra, Khulais, Osfan, Al-Kamil, Rahat, Modrakah, Huda Al-Sham, Thuwal and Rabigh.

Last month, two people were killed as strong winds and heavy rain and swept away cars in Jeddah.

Several people were rescued from submerged cars.

November flooding in Saudi Arabia