Climate security

Two killed as sandstorm hits Jeddah; flights delayed

A severe sandstorm in Jeddah on Sunday resulted in the death of two people in a road accident, closure of schools and rescheduling of flights.
The city was literally blanketed by dust for a better part of the day with winds moving menacingly at 60 km/hour, sharply bringing down visibility while uprooting trees in some areas and also forcing small shops to down shutters. 
“The Jeddah Civil Defense received 20 calls. They were due to incidents related to falling of metals, scaffoldings, marbles, palm and other trees, as well as light posts and unregistered buildings,” said Col. Saeed Sarhan, spokesman of the Civil Defense in Makkah.
The road accident in which two people were killed happened in the Al-Salama district due to poor visibility. 
The victims reportedly got trapped in their car and were taken out by a rescue team.