Saudi Arabia has issued three separate weather warnings for the capital Riyadh, Al Kharj governorate and the southern city of Najran. The Civil Defense Department urged residents to follow safety instructions, without specifying the nature of the threat.
“Residents should follow safety instructions“, the Saudi Civil Defense said in messages distributed through the National Early Warning Platform.
About 20 minutes after the initial alerts, authorities announced that the danger had passed in all three regions. No casualties, injuries or material damage were reported in connection with the warnings.
Explosions heard over Riyadh
The warning for the capital was also worded as a signal that Riyadh was under “hostile air threat“. AFP correspondents reported hearing explosions in the city, but there was no official confirmation of what caused them.
Al-Kharj is located southeast of Riyadh, while Najran is located in the south of the country, near the border with Yemen. Najran's geographical location places it in an area that has been hit by tensions along the Saudi-Yemeni border in recent months.
Warnings come amid regional escalation
The alerts were issued amid ongoing missile and drone threats linked to the war in neighboring Yemen. Saudi authorities did not say whether the latest warnings were triggered by a specific launch, a detected aerial target or some other threat.
Anadolu Agency reported the three warnings without providing further details about the threats. There is currently no confirmation of damage or a new attack on civilian targets in the affected areas.
Sources: news.bg, aa.com.tr, arabnews.com