In the new “seventh wonder of the world” – the stone “pink city” of Petra in Jordan – a large-scale disaster almost happened: more than a thousand tourists had to be quickly evacuated due to an unprecedented flood, and several victims are reported.
The reason is sudden downpours that caused severe flooding. Sudden heavy rains in these regions are dangerous because the rocky soil does not have time to absorb water, and the mountainous terrain accelerates its flow – as a result, streams full of sand and stones are a mortal danger. It was they who fell from the rocks in Petra and turned the stone corridors through which the tourist paths pass into real rivers.
According to the Jordanian mass media, the natural disaster at the world heritage site required the rapid evacuation of at least 1,700 people. The Sik Gorge in Petra turned into a “river of mud” after the storm, prompting the evacuation of tourists. In the video that appeared on social networks, tourists filmed rushing water flowing from rocks, real raging rivers instead of footpaths, as well as many tourists trying to get out in cars and buses. So far, several casualties have been reported.
Heavy rains generally covered the entire southern part of Jordan, which was also not without events. Yes, a flood “washed away” a minibus in the province of Ma’an in the south of the country, the passengers were injured, but they are alive. Meanwhile, Jordan’s Public Security Authority said it had issued a severe weather warning and warned that landslides and rockfalls could occur.
And this is not accidental: floods in these parts are dangerous, and in Petra, it has already led to death. The flood of 2018 took the lives of 11 people here, and thousands were evacuated even then.
Our reference: the Jordanian stone city of Petra is not included in the definitive list of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, compiled by the ancient Greeks, but Petra was included in the list of “new” Seven Wonders of the World compiled in 2015. About 100 million people chose candidates from a vast list of attractions. The list includes the Roman Coliseum, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and other attractions.