Refleksi : Standstorm (badai pasir) ini mengharuskan orang harus tutup aurat, agar tidak kotor.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=125029&d=31&m=7&y=2009 Friday 31 July 2009 (09 Sha`ban 1430) Six die as sandstorm blinds EP Siraj Wahab | Arab News WEATHERING WEATHER: Motorists had a tough time driving on the Alkhobar-Dammam highway on Thursday afternoon during the heavy sandstorm. (AN photo by Imran Haider) ALKHOBAR: A heavy sandstorm blinded much of the Eastern Province on Thursday and claimed at least six lives in two separate traffic accidents. "Five people died in a head-on collision on a highway in Hafr Al-Batin," said Eastern Province Traffic Department chief Ali Al-Suwailem. The victims remained unidentified at the time of going to press. "The accident took place in the morning hours and occurred at a time when the sandstorm was at its peak, and visibility was only a few yards," the police chief added. The other accident took place in Alkhobar resulting in one death. "Here, too, the accident took place in the morning," Al-Suwailem told Arab News, "and low visibility was the reason for the crash." He said the crash in Hafr Al-Batin was particularly bad. "All that remained at the crash site was mangled steel from the two vehicles. Obviously the drivers of two vehicles were blinded by the sandstorm," he said. Hafr Al-Batin was hard-hit as the city sits 70 km from the Iraq border. "Baghdad was blinded on Wednesday by a severe storm, and it was only a matter of time before the sandstorm headed toward the Gulf," Al-Suwailem said. "Whenever sandstorms envelop Baghdad and Kuwait, it is generally a matter of hours before they hit the Eastern Province." Weather department officials in the Eastern Province had issued no specific warning about the impending sandstorm, but television reports broadcast Wednesday from Baghdad had many Eastern Province residents expecting the worst. "We knew it was coming our way," said Parvez Naushahi, a longtime Alkhobar-based Pakistani executive. "We have had extensive coverage on various television channels of how the sandstorm had sent hundreds to hospitals in the Iraqi capital." According to Naushahi, Thursday's sandstorm was not as intense as the one two months ago. "At that time, visibility fell to near zero. That was not the case this time," he said, noting that sandstorms often lose their intensity before they reach Dammam, Alkhobar and Jubail. "We are nearly 450 km away from the Iraqi border," Naushahi said. "By the time it reaches us, it almost peters out." People awoke to a dark morning with their vehicles coated in layers of coarse dust. Visibility was poor even in mid-afternoon. All vehicles had headlights on, and it looked more like evening than afternoon. Evening found roadways around Dammam nearly deserted. Many businesses had it worse. "Why would people come out tonight?" asked the manager of the Kobra Entertainment Park in Dammam. "This sandstorm is too bad. Everybody will want to stay indoors in this type of weather."
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