Nearly 1,700 tourists visiting the ruins of Petra, Jordan, had to be evacuated on Monday.
The region where the archaeological site is located is currently affected by severe weather which has caused flooding in the ruins, reports BFMTV.
So far, no casualties have been reported.
Several visitors took the time to film these intense rains during the evacuation.
We see, on the images, waterspouts hurtling down the paths between the immense cliffs and flowing along the rock.
#البتراء اليوم #Petra pic.twitter.com/j2yA2ALped
— علي الرعود 🌷🇯🇴🇸🇦 (@Alioroud1) December 26, 2022
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Several precedents
The torrential rains currently affecting the region are particularly violent.
In Ma'an, a town 30 km from Petra, no less than 66 mm of rain fell between 26 and 27 December.
Under these conditions, the tourist site of Petra was closed and a security device was put in place.
Floods had already affected the ruins of Petra after intense rains.
At the time, more than 3,700 tourists had been evacuated and 12 people had died.
Heavy rains had also killed 21 people in western Jordan a few weeks earlier, including many children aged 11 to 14 on school trips near the Black Sea.
Petra is one of the most famous archaeological sites on the planet, which is 2,800 years old.
It is an ancient city built by the Nabataeans.
It has been classified since 1985 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Beyond the danger they represent for tourists, the rains that occur in the region also threaten the site of erosion.
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