Saudi Arabia not devastated by tropical cyclone, says Kingdom's meteorology centre

The National Meteorology Centre of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has stated that rumours of a cyclone striking the country are "incorrect" and solely intended to panic the populace.

“All the news circulating about the Kingdom being directly affected by hurricanes is incorrect and does not go beyond sensationalism. The Kingdom overlooks semi-enclosed seas in which tropical cyclones do not form and their direct impact is unlikely,” the centre’s spokesperson Hussein al-Qahtani posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Al-Qahtani advised the populace to only obtain information from authorised sources.

Social media was rife with false reports that Saudi Arabia would be devastated by the same hurricanes and floods that have already affected its neighbours.

After a powerful storm on September 8 carried away entire structures with people inside of them, at least 11,000 people died in Libya.

Two huge dams have collapsed due to heavy rain, sending an estimated 30 million cubic metres of water into Derna, a city in Libya.