In Jordan's Ancient Petra, Sirens Warn of Flash Floods

n this Feb. 13, 2017 file photo, tourists point at the Treasury, Jordan's most famous archaeological monument leftover from the Nabatean civilization in the kingdom's Petra archaeological park, southern Jordan. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil, File)
n this Feb. 13, 2017 file photo, tourists point at the Treasury, Jordan's most famous archaeological monument leftover from the Nabatean civilization in the kingdom's Petra archaeological park, southern Jordan. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil, File)
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In Jordan's Ancient Petra, Sirens Warn of Flash Floods

n this Feb. 13, 2017 file photo, tourists point at the Treasury, Jordan's most famous archaeological monument leftover from the Nabatean civilization in the kingdom's Petra archaeological park, southern Jordan. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil, File)
n this Feb. 13, 2017 file photo, tourists point at the Treasury, Jordan's most famous archaeological monument leftover from the Nabatean civilization in the kingdom's Petra archaeological park, southern Jordan. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil, File)

In ancient times, Arab tribesmen dug diversion tunnels to protect their low-lying trading post of Petra against desert flash floods. More than two millennia later, an alarm system warns visitors if flood water rushes toward what has become Jordan's main tourist attraction.

Earlier this month, the alarms were activated for the first time, said Hussein al-Hasanat of the Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority. Sirens blared minutes before a torrent fed by heavy rains approached the UNESCO World Heritage site carved into rose-hued rock face.

Hundreds of tourists were able to seek higher ground and were later evacuated, he said.

Amateur video posted online at the time showed visitors running through a steep, narrow canyon leading to the Treasury, Petra's main draw, as guides urged them to hurry. Later, visitors were seen standing on a higher patch near the Treasury as knee-high water poured through the canyon.

Elsewhere in Jordan, such alarms are still missing. Thirty-four people were killed in flash floods in late September and early November.

The last fatal flash flood struck Petra in 1963 when 22 French tourists and a local guide were killed by rapidly rising waters. In response, Jordan's Department of Antiquities built a dam to keep water from entering the canyon leading to the Treasury.

In 2014, the alarm system was installed as added protection, with sirens set to go off when flood water rises above a certain level.

On Nov. 9, the system was triggered for the first time, through a computer in the Petra Authority's control room. The computer is connected to eight rain forecast systems and two water detection stations placed in the area, within 8 kilometers of Petra.

The network generates instant data allowing officials to measure possible danger and warn people by the time the water reaches Petra.

Omar Dajani, a meteorologist at the Arabia Weather company, said alarms should be installed in all vulnerable areas in Jordan.

He said urban sprawl has exacerbated the flood risk, which is particularly high in dry areas.

"Now towns have spread so much and many of them were not built with respect for the geography of the region, such as valleys for example, where the water has naturally caused floods for millions of years," Dajani said.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.