(No Like Yet)
Published on : Monday, November 19, 2018
Previous to this month, the alarms were activated for the first time, stated Hussein Al Hasanat of the Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority. Sirens blared minutes previous to a flood fed by heavy rains approached the Unesco World Heritage site carved into rose-hued rock face.
Hundreds of visitors succeeded in seeking higher ground and were later remove from, he said.
Posted online, amateur video at the time showed tourists running through a steep, narrow canyon taking them to the Treasury, Petra’s main draw, as guides requested them to hurry. Later, visitors were seen standing on a higher patch close to the Treasury as knee-high water poured through the canyon.
Somewhere else in Jordan, such alarms are still missing. Thirty-four people lost their lives in flash floods in late September and early November. The last deadly flash flood struck Petra in 1963 when 22 French tourists and a local guide were lost their life by rapidly rising waters. In response, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan built a dam to keep water from entering the canyon leading to the Treasury.
In 2014, the alarm system was placed as added protection, with sirens set to go off when flood water rises above four metres.
Tags: massive flood in Petra