January - the month of rain!

Desert? Rain? Yes, it actually does rain in Jeddah.  My first year here, it only rained a couple of times.  This month alone, it seems like we have had fairly heavy rain at least once or twice a week!  When it first started raining this week, I was thrilled because I love and miss my Florida rain :)  I do not own an umbrella in this country, but I am thinking I should maybe invest in one - if I can find one for sale anywhere.

(Photo courtesy of Jicibel)

Unfortunately, what started out as a refreshing rain turned into a natural disaster.  Almost every time it rains here, school is canceled.  We get "rain days" instead of "snow days".  At first, I thought, "Really? Closing school for a little rain? Sure, I'd love the day off, but it's just a little rain."  However, that "little rain" in Jeddah soon turned into a flash flood.

(Photo courtesy of Jicibel)

Because Jeddah has no drainage system, and it is a desert, every rain causes some flooding.  Usually, it is just a minor inconvenience because nobody here knows how to drive in the rain.  Unfortunately, the rain yesterday cause some pretty major flooding!

(Photo courtesy of Jicibel)

It started raining on our way to school.  It was light enough that I didn't really need an umbrella.  However, it rained every couple of hours for the rest of the day.  It was reported that Jeddah got 111mm of rain yesterday.  By lunch time, our school had texted all of the parents to come get their kids so we could close the school.  They were worried about us getting stuck at the school due to flooding.  That was partly the case for some of our teaching assistants.  They left later than we did and were stuck in the floods for about 7 hours before safely reaching their home - alhumdulillah!

(Photo courtesy of Jicibel)

Here are some links to articles and pictures of the flood from Arabnews.com: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article243514.ece
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article243502.ece

(Photo courtesy of Jicibel)

Please pray for the people in Jeddah (and elsewhere in the KSA) affected by the flood.  Some have lost their houses, some their livelihoods, and some even their lives.  More rain is expected.

(Photo courtesy of Jicibel)