At least 14 dead in Saudi flash floods

RIYADH // Fourteen people were killed and one is still missing after flash floods hit several mountainous districts of southern Saudi Arabia, civil defence officials said today. Rescue teams also helped some 440 people threatened by the flooding after days of heavy rain in Asir, Jizan, Najran and Taif, the country's civil defence said in a statement. The civil defence chief, Saad al Tuwaijri, said that three bodies were recovered in Najran, while another six people died in Jizan, four in Asir and one in Taif. Another person was reported missing. The authorities were using helicopters to ferry emergency supplies of food, water, and medicine to the stricken areas because the flooding had washed away some roads.

"We are watching the situation closely, and we are ready to deal with any emergency incidents and to send more relief materials to areas inaccessible by ground units," Mr Tuwaijri said. * AFP