Jordan’s king helps storm-struck drivers

As one of the worst winter storms in decades hit the Middle East, the driver and passengers of one car who got stuck in the Amman snow Saturday were surprised to find King Abdullah II coming to help them.

The Jordan Times reported that the king was touring the capital to oversee efforts to clear snow-blanketed streets.

Jordanian Facebook users uploaded photos of the king mid-rescue to the social networking site and the website Khaberni (in Arabic) added a video.

Jordan was hit by a blizzard Friday and Saturday that dumped almost half a meter of snow in certain parts and “channeled around 10 million cubic metres (mcm) of water into the country’s dams,” according to the report. Jordanian authorities called on people to stay indoors and avoid driving on icy roads.

In Israel, the rain and snow storm claimed the lives of four people so far, left the capital Jerusalem sealed off as roads leading in and out were closed, and left tens of thousands without power.

In the Gaza Strip, over 4,000 people had to be rescued from flooded homes across the territory.