A dust storm shrouds a desert camp at Rawdatein, north of Kuwait City, on Saturday, March 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)By Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist
Mar 19, 2012; 1:40 PM ET
A major dust and sandstorm has swept over wide areas of the Mideast since late last week.
The choking, blinding airborne dust sent hundreds of people to hospital in Saudi Arabia, the Khaleej Times website, citing the AFP, said on Monday. Schools in parts of the kingdom were shut, the website also indicated.
The storm disrupted flights through Sanaa, Yemen.
In Kuwait, 277 residents on the island of Failaka were evacuated by the coast guard of Kuwait, Al Watan Daily website said.
Drivers in the region were warned of very low visibility and strong winds. Weather data accessed by AccuWeather.com showed visibility down to one to two hundred yards at the height of the storm.
The dust and sandstorm was kicked up by a strong cold front beginning in Friday eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq. The strong winds and very low visibility spread quickly southeastward, enveloping Baghdad, Iraq, through Kuwait, on Saturday.
The rest of the Gulf region, spanning Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates, was swept in clouds of thick dust and sand on Saturday night and Sunday.
Southern and western Arabia was caught up in the dusty shroud by Monday, some of the lowest visibilities being observed in Yemen.
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