Las Torrential rains have struck the ancient city of Petra, in the middle of the desert, and have forced the Jordanian authorities to evacuate thousands of tourists of the archaeological site, which already suffered similar incidents in 2018, when more than 20 people lost their lives and, in 1963, the year in which 23 French tourists were swept away by the waters.
The Sky News chain has distributed some images that capture the moment of the evacuation, when the water filled the gorge, turning it into a mighty river that reaches the entrance of the temple of Petra, while the tourists, seized with panic, flee.
The Petra Tourism and Development Region Authority stated that some 1,700 tourists and locals had to evacuate the area for their safety. In neighboring Maan, three people were injured in floodwaters after a minibus was swept away by torrents.
The ancient rocky city of Petra, 240 kilometers south of Jerusalem, has already been ravaged by torrential rains. In 2018, the waters rose 4.5 meters and swept away more than a dozen people, and some 4,000 people were evacuated.
In 1963, when 22 French tourists and a local guide died from rapid flooding. In response, the Jordanian Department of Antiquities built a dam to prevent water from entering the canyon leading to Al-Khazneh, known as the Treasury.
Considered one of the seven wonders of the modern world, Petra is located in the Arava Valley, and is a city excavated and sculpted in stone. The builders were the Nabateans, an Arab tribe that settled in the area around the VI BC. C. and that made the city prosper as it was a transit area between the silk and spice routes between China, India and Arabia with Egypt, Greece and Rome.