Twelve people died in heavy rains and flooding in parts of Jordan on Friday and authorities evacuated foreign tourists from the ancient city of Petra and other popular destinations, officials said on Saturday.
The country has recently been hit by flash floods and heavy downpours. In the worst incident, 21 people - mostly school children on an outing to the Dead Sea - were killed as torrential rains poured through valleys and deep ravines.
Over 3,500 visitors were taken to safe areas on Friday before flash floods inundated parts of the southern mountainous city of Petra famous for its carved rock ruins, government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat said.
Authorities banned all tourist trips and declared a state of emergency in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba further south as downpours continued for a few hours before subsiding overnight.
The authorities said on Saturday they had evacuated hundreds of families living in makeshift tents in outlying rural and desert areas and scattered settlements in villages in the southern parts of the country that were hardest hit.
They included families of Syrian refugees who work as shepherds and farmers, officials said.
Elsewhere in Kuwait, Minister of Public Works, Hussam Al-Roumi, resigned on Friday following heavy rainfall that caused damaging flooding across the country, state news agency KUNA reported on Friday.
"Out of my moral responsibility ... I have submitted my resignation to the prime minister," Al-Roumi said.
The army and National Guard were mobilized to help clear water from critical facilities and roadways and the Kuwait Oil Company announced a state of emergency, KUNA reported.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
Parliament speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim said a meeting would be held on Sunday to discuss the impact of the flooding, KUNA reported.