Heavy rains lash Saudi Arabia

RIYADH - Twelve people have been killed in floods after heavy rain lashed northern parts of Saudi Arabia this week, the civil defence agency said on Wednesday.

Ten died in the northwestern city of Tabuk and one each in the holy city of Medina and in northern border areas, the agency said in a statement cited by the official SPA news agency.

Between Sunday and Wednesday, the agency had rescued 271 people from flooded areas, more than half of them in Tabuk, the statement said.

Heavy downpours have hit several areas of Saudi Arabia this week, mainly in western and northwestern parts of the kingdom close to the border with Jordan.

A number of committees have been set up to assess the damage caused by the bad weather, the agency said.