Heavy rain and thunderstorms hamper daily life in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan

Iraq has announced a public holiday over weather concerns, while schools have closed in Jordan and Kuwait

Flooding in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Extreme weather is common across the country in March and April. AFP

Extreme weather including thunderstorms and hail has disrupted daily life in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan.

Iraq was hit hardest by Wednesday's storms, with torrential rain across the country accompanied by thunder, lightning, hail and strong winds.

The government has declared Thursday a public holiday, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani’s office said. The announcement does not apply to security forces and municipalities.

Flooding affected traffic, with videos and images on social media showing cars floating away on the torrents.

In one video, several men were seen pushing a broken mini bus through deep water in the city of Hillah, south of Baghdad.

Municipal workers in Baghdad and other provinces pumped water out of flooded urban and rural areas.

In the autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, heavy construction equipment, such as excavators, were used in to demolish outside walls to let water escape and allow families to be rescued.

Municipal workers across Iraq pumped water from flooded urban and rural areas, including in Baghdad. No casualties were reported.

Three people killed

At least three people were electrocuted in the central province of Babil, AFP reported.

A woman was among the group, who were aged 16, 22 and 30, osaid Dr Ahmed Sabbah, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the provincial capital Hillah.

They were killed while trying to switch off the main supply of power to their homes.

On Thursday, conditions were normal in most cities. The Iraqi weather service forecast light and moderate rain.

Severe weather is common in the country during March and April.

Iraq is the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change, the UN Environment Programme said.

In the past three years, the country has reported record summer temperatures that exceeded 50°C in many areas, as well as insufficient and diminishing rainfall and frequent sand and dust storms.

Reduced water flow from its two main rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, and extreme conditions have intensified droughts and water scarcity in Iraq.

Desertification affects 39 per cent of the country and 54 per cent of its agricultural land has been degraded, mainly due to soil salinity caused by historically low river levels, rain scarcity and rising sea levels.

In Jordan, some schools closed on Thursday owing to rain and poor visibility, state TV reported.

The military said a soldier was missing after a flash flood on Monday, an army spokesman said.

The soldier was in a patrol vehicle when it was swept away by the flood in the Wadi Araba region, on the border with Israel.

"Research and rescue operations are continuing," the spokesman said. The vehicle has been found.

Flash floods are common in Wadi Araba. Desert covers a large area of the kingdom and rainfall across the country last season was among the lowest on record.

Rainfall increased this year, boosted by unusually high levels in March and April.

But rain levels are still far lower than the average, data from the Jordanian Meteorological Apartment showed.

Schools were closed in the southern governorates of Tafileh, Karak and Aqaba, where Wadi Araba is located, as well as in the governorate of Al Salt, west of Amman.

Hussein Al Tarawneh, head of the Karak education department, said schools were suspended "to preserve the health of the students and staff".

This year’s weather is characterised by rain that exceeds the usual annual rates in terms of frequency, continuity and abundance

Issa Ramadan,
meteorologist in Kuwait

On Thursday, Kuwait’s Ministry of Education also closed schools over concerns about the weather. Pupils and teachers were allowed to leave early on Wednesday.

The decision was based on weather warnings issued by Kuwait’s Meteorological Department of the General Administration of Civil Aviation.

“The ministry emphasises the importance of ensuring the safety of students, teachers and employees, and urges everyone to follow the ministry’s instructions and official updates regarding the study schedule on the ministry’s website,” said ministry spokesman Ahmed Al Wahida.

Meteorologist Issa Ramadan told Kuwait's Al Rai newspaper that heavy rain and thunderstorm were expected this week.

“This year’s weather is characterised by rain that exceeds the usual annual rates in terms of frequency, continuity and abundance, which made the spring of this year one of the most beautiful, wonderful and splendid for many years,” Mr Ramadan said.

Moderate and heavy rain was also reported in parts of Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh.

In Abha, the capital of south-western Aseer province, King Khalid University put remote learning measure in place on Thursday "to ensure everyone's safety".