1.
GV Traffic during heavy rain
0.08

2.
GV hillside dwellings
0.11

3.
GV Water gushing down steps
0.17

4.
GV River of flood water
0.22

5.
GV Flood water and damage to roadside
0.29

6.
GV Flood water
0.35

7.
GV Cars along flooded street
0.48

8.
SV Workers sheltering in doorway
0.51

9.
SV & CU Workers clearing drain (2 shots)
1.06

10.
SV People pushing stalled car
1.12

11.
SV & GV Civil defence helpers around Red Crescent ambulances
1.20

12.
GV Traffic and army vehicles
1.25

13.
GV Flood water around damaged house (2 shots)
1.38

14.
GV & LV Car stands in flood water
1.41



Initials OS/1229 LD/OS/1304



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Twenty-four hours of heavy rainfall throughout the Southern areas of Jordan have resulted in very heavy flooding - and by yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon four people were known to have drowned and hundreds left homeless.

Two of the drowned are said to have been swept away in low-lying districts of Amman - where out film was shot by VISNEWS Cameraman George Haj at the height of the flooding.

SYNOPSIS: Heavy rains which began on Monday, poured down for twenty-four hours non-stop through areas in Southern Jordan. Four people were known to have drowned and hundreds left homeless as the torrential rains turned to floods. Here, in the low-lying areas of the capital, Amman, two people were reported swept away in the gushing waters which over-flowed from nearby rivers.

Roads throughout the country - and in neighbouring Syria and Lebanon - became impassable as bridges collapsed and trees and poles fell across the roads and were swept along in the water.

In Amman, some cars managed to get through the flooded streets, but as the waters swelled, it became increasingly difficult to maintain the movement of vehicles.

Workers were called out to repair fallen telephone and telegraph lines, and to clear drains for the waters to be detoured. But much of the work was to no avail - the water and debris coming in faster than the men could work.

Eventually, cars began to stall and traffic came to a virtual halt. Civil defence helpers were called out with Red Crescent ambulances to help the sick and the stranded, and to report on possible health emergencies.

The Army was also called on to provide traffic clearance and to help stalled motorists. Figures on the damage caused are not yet available - but visual evidence indicates that it is likely to be high - particularly in areas which have already suffered considerably in the recent clashes between the Jordanian troops and the Palestinian guerrillas.