Snow in southern region briefly disrupts traffic movement

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s 10 major dams now hold over half of their storage capacity, following a depression that brought heavy rain across the country and snow to the southern region, officials said on Saturday.

The depression, which was accompanied by a cold air mass, raised water levels at the major dams, dispelling fears of a drought due to the absence of rain since December last year.

“The dams now hold 170 million cubic metres (mcm) of water, constituting 52.3 per cent of their total capacity of 325mcm. Some 28mcm went into the dams over a four-day period,” Jordan Valley Authority Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour told The Jordan Times.

The 10 dams held 181mcm or 55.6 per cent of their total capacity at this time last year, whereas they stored around 34.5 per cent in March 2012.

“The water situation is much better after the recent rain across the country and snowfall in the south. Hopefully, more rain will come, especially since the country usually receives rain until May,” Abu Hammour noted.

The depression, which started affecting the country last Tuesday night, also brought temperatures down nine degrees below their annual average of 17°C during this time of the year, while the southern region witnessed snow on Friday that briefly disrupted traffic movement, according to authorities.

The Civil Defence Department (CDD) said its personnel evacuated 202 people and tourists who were snowbound on Friday in the south and pumped out rainwater from 74 houses that were inundated following flash floods, mostly in the southern and central regions.

“There were no injuries or fatalities due to weather-related incidents since the depression started,” a CDD statement said.