Flash floods in Saudi Arabia swept away 10 people, killing seven, after heavy rains, a newspaper reported Saturday.
Storm waters three meters deep flashed through Wadi Setarah drowning a husband and wife, her mother, a brother and the couple's three children, the daily said.
The family was caught in a valley bottom 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Jeddah as they battled to reach their homes in a pickup truck on Wednesday night, the Saudi Gazette reported.
A driver and two other relatives were rescued by civil defense workers.
Rescue work was going on around the clock to help hundreds of marooned people.
The eastern port city of Jeddah and the holy city of Mecca have been hit by flooding in the last three days from the rare rain storms.
On Thursday night, hundreds of people were stranded inside several Jeddah shopping malls as a torrential downpour left several feet of water running through the central streets.
An AFP correspondent reported traffic chaos with large areas of the city isolated, traffic lights out and dozens of cars abandoned.
More than 400 pumping trucks were stationed at major crossroads to cope with the floods – RIYADH (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
