47 Japanese Confirmed Safe after Floods in Jordan

November 10, 2018

Jerusalem--The Japanese embassy in Amman confirmed on Friday the safety of 45 Japanese tourists on a group tour and two tour guides after flash floods hit Wadi Musa in southern Jordan, home to Petra ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the same day.

Several thousand people, including tourists, evacuated due to the floods, but there have been no reports of injuries so far.

The embassy is gathering further information as other Japanese tourists not on a group tour may have been visiting the site.

Jordanian media reported that unprecedented flash floods occurred in Wadi Musa but that the safety of 3,500 tourists was secured.

Damage included landslides that blocked passages. According to informed sources, the floods have already subsided. Jordan has recently experienced heavy rains.

On Friday, state-run Jordan News Agency, or Petra, reported that a total of seven people were killed in flash flooding in central Jordan, including on an arterial highway. In an area around the Dead Sea, flash flooding struck a bus with children on board during a trip on Oct. 25, leaving 21 dead.

Petra ruins, located between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, are the remains of structures constructed by ancient Arabian people and were found by a Swiss adventurer in the 19th century.

The site is known as the setting of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," a 1989 U.S. movie. Jiji Press