Some 1,700 tourists have been evacuated from the archaeological site of Petra, in southwestern Jordan, due to flooding in the area caused by heavy rains of the last days, according to official sources.
“The Jordanian government has evacuated some 1,700 tourists in Petra due to the heavy rains,” the president of the Board of Commissioners of the Petra Region Authority, Suliman al Faryat, told EFE, who assured that “the situation is stable and there is no danger for tourists, although the reception process (of visitors) has stopped since noon”.
According to Al Faryat, “everything that is happening now is simple Flooding due to continuous rains in the areathe authorities know how to handle the situation” because these circumstances “have been repeated for 30 years”.
After decades suffering from this phenomenon, the authorities “be more careful with these types of emergencies” with a clear protocol: “evacuate tourists from tourist areas by car to take them to areas out of danger”, as well as “stop receiving new visitors until further notice”.
In addition, among the device designed to deal with these episodes includes “return sold tickets for visits that finally could not be done”.
Al Faryat claimed that Jordan learned the lesson after a total of 12 victims died in 2018 of torrential rains in various parts of the country and which forced the evacuation of thousands of citizens and tourists from the monumental city of Petra.
Images recorded by Jordanian television Al Mamlaka TV and shared on its official Twitter account show a strong torrent of water falling towards the entrance of the temple of Petrawhere dozens of tourists waited to be evacuated at the door while protecting themselves from the rain with raincoats.
At the iconic monument of #Petra in #Jordan, there are heavy floods. Tourists have been evacuated from the place. pic.twitter.com/z0FDs670Yo
— Adela Micha (@Adela_Micha) December 26, 2022
From the Board of Commissioners of the Petra Region Authority they hope that “with the improvement of the weather in the next few daysthey can begin to receive people”, although they already anticipate that if the rains and floods continue, “they will not receive anyone to guarantee the safety of tourists”.
In addition, the heavy rains affecting the country have left three people injured during floods in Maan provincesouthwest of Jordan, after the minibus in which they were traveling was swept away by the torrent of water, according to the region’s Emergency Unit, quoted by the official Jordanian news agency, Petra.
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The city of Petra is a archaeological site excavated entirely in rockwhich dates back to the time of the Nabateans, around the 5th century BC, and is considered one of the most important treasures in the world.
According to the latest data provided by this organization, in the last 11 months a total of 1,419,048 visitors of various nationalities arrived in Petra, a figure that represents 38% more compared to the same period last year, in which 757,038 visitors arrived. from the same area.