Heavy rain, flooding causes 12 deaths in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense say 12 people have died and more than 170 injured this week due to flooding from heavy rain in the northwestern region of the country

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia says 12 people have died and more than 170 have been injured this week due to flooding from heavy rain in the northwest.

The Civil Defense says Thursday that 10 people died in the area of Tabuk, one in Medina and another in the Northern Borders region. It did not say what caused the deaths.

Civil Defense forces say they rescued 271 people over the past four days, most of them in the al-Jawf region that borders Jordan. Several were also rescued in Mecca, Tabuk, and the Northern Borders region.

The heavy rains have flooded desert valleys and forced schools to close. The English-language Arab News in Saudi Arabia posted video of water engulfing a street in the city of Medina, home to one of Islam's holiest sites.