‘Weekend rain channelled 4mcm of water into Kingdom’s dams’

AMMAN — Four million cubic metres (mcm) of water entered the country’s dams between Friday and Saturday morning, according to the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA).

The 10 major dams now store 47 per cent of their total capacity, following a depression and a cold front that started affecting the country on Thursday night, bringing heavy rain to different parts of the Kingdom.

“By Saturday morning, the dams held 157mcm of their total capacity of 325mcm. Some 4mcm were channelled into the dams, mainly those in the northern region,” JVA Secretary General, Saad Abu Hammour, told The Jordan Times.

During this time last year the major dams held 133mcm of their total capacity, according to official figures.

Although only the dams in the northern region stored rainwater during the recent depression, the 110mcm Wihdeh Dam near the Jordanian-Syria border did not receive any additional amounts and now holds approximately 22.8 per cent of its total capacity, according to Abu Hammour.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said on Saturday that a slight rise in temperatures is forecast for this week, but warned of possible frost formation across the country, except for the Jordan Valley and Aqaba.

The weather will be sunny but relatively cold over the next three days with southeasterly winds expected, while temperatures will range between a high of 13ºC-15ºC and a low of 3ºC to 5ºC in the capital, according to a JMD statement.

The heavy rainfall over the weekend led to the flooding of several buildings in the northern region, according to the Civil Defence Department.

The Greater Irbid Municipality on Friday dealt with 20 cases of flooded houses while the Irbid District Electricity Company recorded 80 power disruptions in the northern region, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Also in Irbid, the authorities evacuated the residents of three buildings after water flooded their ground floors, according to Petra.

No injuries were reported. 

The Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) dealt with 50 power outages in Karak caused by strong winds, Petra reported. 

Sahem Majali, EDCO’s director in Karak, said the company addressed all the disruptions caused by wind speed above 70km per hour.