The death toll in Jordan’s flash floods rose to 12, announced the civil defense on Saturday.
The floods, caused by heavy rains, struck the kingdom's main tourist attraction, the ancient city of Petra. The site was closed for cleanup after what local officials said was the biggest deluge in the area in decades.
State television said the waters had reached as high as four meters (13 feet) in parts of the red-rock ravine city of Petra and the adjacent Wadi Musa desert.
It broadcast footage of tourists sheltering on high ground on both sides of the access road to Jordan's biggest attraction. Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghuneimat said 3,762 tourists were evacuated.
The floods also struck several other regions of Jordan. Rescuers continued the search for missing people around the Wala reservoir in central Jordan on Saturday.
In the southern town of Maan, authorities opened a shelter for dozens of people whose homes were surrounded by water.
The casualties included two children and a diver who had been involved in rescue efforts, according to state media and Ghuneimat.
Five people have already been confirmed dead in the area southwest of the capital Amman.
To the east, three people were killed near Dabaa on the Desert Highway, one of Jordan's three main north-south arteries, while one was killed near Maan in the south.
Ghneimat said the highway was cut in both directions.
The Jordanian army deployed helicopters and all-terrain vehicles to help with the search and rescue operation.
Separately, Israel's public radio said contact had been lost with three Israeli tourists in southern Jordan. The Arabic-language Makan Radio said the tourists had last been heard from in the Wadi Rum area, another major tourist attraction.
The torrents came two weeks after 21 people, most of them children, were killed in flash floods near the Dead Sea. The tourism and education ministers resigned over the Dead Sea flooding.
In Petra, heavy rains began at around 1 pm Friday and last for about 40 minutes, said Rafael Dorado, 41, a tourist from Spain.
At about 3 pm, a torrent of water came gushing through the site's steep and narrow access canyon, flooding the area within minutes, he said. Delgado said he was observing from a hilltop temple in the area, but saw other visitors scrambling to higher ground. He said some visitors were later evacuated by trucks and others made their way out on foot.
Suleiman Farajat, the chief administrator in Petra, said the site would remain closed Saturday, but would likely reopen Sunday. He said he's never seen flooding of such intensity in the area.
"It's really, I wouldn't say scary, but surprising how huge the flood was," he said.
