Pilgrims doing the tawaf on Tuesday were caught in storms as lightning hit an iconic tower in Mecca.
Saudi Arabia’s Mecca, home to Islam’s holiest sites, has seen extreme storms and rain that affected pilgrims, shuttered schools and caused chaotic scenes. Videos online on Tuesday showed pilgrims who were doing the tawaf – circling the Kaaba – getting soaked and slipping on the floor as heavy rains thrashed and carried
objects around. As the rare scenes were unfolding at the giant black cube towards which all Muslims pray, another video showed a bolt of lightning striking the iconic Fairmont Makkah Clock Royal Tower hotel, illuminating the night sky on Tuesday. Hussain al-Qahtani, spokesman for the National Center for Meteorology, posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that the storm brought gale-force winds exceeding 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour. Al-Qahtani said the Mecca neighbourhood of al-Kakiyyah recorded 45 millimetres (1.8 inches) of rain within 24 hours. Videos online also showed mild flooding in some neighbourhoods of Mecca, forcing citizens to take shelter and stop cars. Conditions appeared similar to a 2015 storm that felled a crane at the Grand Mosque, or the Masjid al-Haram, the mosque enclosing the vicinity of the Kaaba, killing more than 100 people and injuring hundreds more.
Saudi authorities reported no casualties or significant incidents as a result of Tuesday’s storms.
Flash flooding had mostly dissipated by Wednesday morning, according to residents, but the situation could still prove risky.
The meteorology centre warned of further storms on Wednesday bringing rain, wind and thunder to the Mecca region and elsewhere in western Saudi Arabia.
Source: aljazeera.com
Saturday, April 18, 2026
