Kuwait Times

Published Date: November 26, 2009

MAKKAH/JEDDAH: Heavy rains and floods killed at least 13 people and stranded thousands of Muslim faithful in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah yesterday on the first day of the annual hajj pilgrimage. The floods shut a motorway to the holy city of Makkah, leaving pilgrims unable to complete their journey. "We're stuck because of the water and rain. God willing, everything will be okay," said Hakan, a Turkish pilgrim from Istanbul as he waited for a bus to Makkah. In Makkah, pilgrims circled Islam's hol
iest site, the Kaaba, yesterday in traditional white robes, with new additions - umbrellas and face masks.

The heaviest rainfall in years, unusual in the desert kingdom, flooded many streets and buildings in Jeddah, where most pilgrims arrive. At least 13 people were killed in accidents or drowned, officials said, but none were thought to be pilgrims. Government official Jassem Al-Yaqout told Reuters two bridges on the motorway to Makkah collapsed. A power outage hit parts of Makkah, the state news agency SPA said.

About 1.6 million pilgrims have come from abroad for the hajj, the world's largest regular religious gathering and a duty for all Muslims to perform at least once if possible. Pilgrims from within Saudi Arabia are set to raise the total above 2.5 million, posing logistical and health challenges.

Some worried they would be unable to spend the night in a tent camp in a valley in Mina as they follow the route Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) took 14 centuries ago. "We are staying in tents for now. Heavy rain turned red-carpeted corridors into streams of water with empty cans of soft drinks floating," said Zohra Nasef, from Morocco and on her second hajj. "Some pilgrims could not find enough space in tents so we deployed additional ones to shelter them," said Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Turki.

Some pilgrims said they said they would stay in Makkah and travel today morning directly to Mount Arafat, where Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gave his last sermon and where pilgrims are required to recite the Holy Quran and pray. "We delayed going to Mina because of the heavy rain in Makkah. We were afraid of becoming sick," said Iraqi Iyad Badawi, 40, undertaking the hajj with his wife. "We will go to Arafat directly after midnight" by bus, he said.

Traffic was jammed around Makkah late on Tuesday as hundreds of thousands of latecomers arrived in the western Saudi city to launch into the rites of the hajj, required for all able Muslims at least once in their lifetime. The rites begin with the "tawaf", circling seven times the Kaaba in the centre of the massive, one-million-person capacity Grand Mosque. At times, crowds of men and women under umbrellas, some wearing surgical masks against the flu, circled in the rain-soaked open air courtyard of the mo
sque surrounding the shrine.

But at other times during the day, the site was nearly empty, as were the surrounding streets, usually jammed tight with people praying, eating and selling goods on the hajj's opening day. "It was very surreal, there was a lot of people yet it was quiet," said Shahidah Sharif, from Atlanta, Georgia, after she performed the circumambulation. "There was just a hush when people were hurrying to get in and get settled. I think the rain calmed the atmosphere and cleansed it. It's giving us a chance to rest.

The next stage is the overnight stay at Mina before climbing Mount Arafat. Yesterday afternoon, thousands of people plodded through the rain on the eight-kilometre trek to Mina, as others tried to go by bus. But the rain blocked roads and buses stood immobile, often not moving for an hour.

Makkah and Jeddah often see rain during the winter months, but yesterday's downpour was the heaviest in years to coincide with the four-day hajj. Jeddah was swamped with 2.76 inches of rain, more than it gets in a year on average, according to Dale Mohler, senior meteorologist at the weather website, Accuweather.com. With a storm system intersecting with moisture from East Africa, scattered rains were expected through Friday. "They are still not totally out of the woods yet," Mohler said, warning of the po
ssibility of flash floods and mudslides in the mountains surrounding Makkah. "There's no vegetation on the slopes to soak up the rain," he said. "I would be concerned that there could be some additional flash flooding for the next two days.

The hajj is a religious duty for every able-bodied Muslim. Many around the world wait a lifetime for a chance to make the spiritual journey in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Abraham (PBUH), a progenitor of Islam. For believers, it is an opportunity to cleanse one's sins before God.

But it is also a logistical nightmare. Over four days, the population of a small city moves by car, bus and foot between Makkah and several holy sites in the desert nearby, each day performing a different rite all at the same time. Saudi authorities urged the crowds to move cautiously and not rush to avoid accidents in the rain. Civil Defense spokesman Maj Abdullah Al-Harthi said his organization has plans ready to deal with flooding, and had 300 buses to evacuate people if necessary.

Saudi Arabia's biggest worry for months ahead of the hajj was swine flu. The kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, has urged Muslims over 65 and under 12 as well as people with chronic diseases and pregnant women not to perform the ritual this year. Several countries have put restrictions on their pilgrims and Tunisia has banned citizens from going altogether.

The Saudi government has been working with the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to set up clinics and take precautions to stem any outbreak. Signs at the airport and around the holy sites urge the faithful to cover their faces when they cough, wash their hands often and wear a mask. The swine flu vaccine is given free at the airport for those who want it. More than 100 clinics have been set up at holy sites, and large supplies of Tamiflu and other anti-flu medications are on hand.


Hassan El-Bushra, an epidemiologist in the Cairo office of the World Health Organization, said "there is no evidence" that the rain would worsen the spread of H1N1. The virus is carried in the air, by sneezes, coughs and touch - not waterborne. The rain could even be beneficial if it means crowds are smaller, he said. Still, Shahul Ebrahim, a consultant from the Atlanta, Georgia-based CDC at the hajj, said his team and the Saudis were keeping watch. "Rain can lead to other waterborne diseases ... But we
still don't know how it will effect H1N1. We can't predict," he told AP.

So far, four pilgrims have died from the H1N1 virus since arriving in Saudi Arabia in recent days, and 67 others have been diagnosed with the virus, Saudi Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah told the Arab news network Al-Jazeera English. The crowds, crammed with seven people a square meter, provide a perfect environment for swine flu's spread, said Ebrahim. "There is no personal space," he said. "Ideally you should be one meter away from someone to avoid catching the disease.

The crowds are expected to exceed last year, when some 3 million attended, said Amer al-Amer, an Information Ministry spokesman. But the actual number was still unknown, and some could decide at the last minute not to show up either because of flu fears or the rain. But most were too caught up in the exhilaration of the spiritual experience to worry. Nigerian pilgrim Omar Issa said he chose not to get a swine flu vaccination. "I am not afraid of anything because God protects me. I came here for a religiou
s reason, I am here to worship God," he said.

In Makkah, men in the simple white robes traditional for the rites and head-scarved women crowded under concrete overhangs or under shop eaves to avoid the rain as they made their way to their destinations. The vast majority of pilgrims spent the day slogging through mud and rain at a sprawling tent city where they will reside through the hajj in the desert valley of Mina, several miles outside Makkah. Many tents were lightly flooded, with water puddling the floors. Still, "people are in high spirits," s
aid Sharif, speaking to AP from Mina. "Most people are praying.

Authorities have improved facilities to ease the flow of pilgrims, particularly around the area where they throw stones at pillars symbolising the rejection of the devil's temptation. In 2006, 362 people were crushed to death there, the worst hajj tragedy in 16 years. This year, the mainly Sunni Muslim kingdom is battling Shiite Yemeni rebels after they raided its territory, an issue that raises fears of possible protests by fellow Shiite Muslims during the rituals. Saudi Arabia bans public protests, espe
cially during hajj.

Riyadh earlier this month warned against any attempt to politicise the pilgrimage. Some 100,000 security staff are on duty in Mecca in western Saudi Arabia. In 1987, a rally by pilgrims against Israel and the United States led to clashes with Saudi security forces in which 402 people, mostly Iranians, died. Saudi Arabia, a US ally which sees itself as Sunni Islam's guardian, has often been at odds with Shiite Iran, mainly after the 1979 Islamic revolution. The Saudi warning followed remarks by Iranian Supr
eme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to departing Shiite pilgrims that they could not ignore conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and Pakistan. - Agencies