Heavy rain and flash floods caused major disruption to the ancient city of Petra on Sunday 4 May. The severe weather in the afternoon prompted authorities to halt ticket sales and temporarily suspend access to the archaeological site with a total of 1,800 visitors being evacuated. Key areas cleared included Al Khazneh, the Siq, the Roman Soldier’s Tomb, the Monastery, and the Prophet Harun slopes. No injuries were reported.
The Jordan Meteorological Department reported a deep low pressure system in Southern Jordan caused the heavy rainfall in the Shoubak District and Petra in Ma’an Governorate. The floods caused casualties and prompted rapid evacuations in a number of locations.
In the Wadi Al Nakhil, tragedy struck when a mother and her son from Belgium among a group of 18 tourists, were swept away in a flash flood and following an extensive search their bodies were found on the morning of the 5th May.
Petra, built some 2,300 years ago by the Nabatean kingdom and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is carved out of sandstone cliffs and ravines. Petra’s Al-Siq gorge, a narrow canyon amplifies flood risks, with the water channels that were originally designed to manage flow often overwhelmed by extreme weather conditions. Floods of a similar magnitude occurred in 2018 and 2022.
