JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Floodings caused by heavy downpours in western Saudi Arabia have killed 48 people while another 900 were rescued from swirling waters, the civil defence authority said on Thursday.

A 90-millimetre (3.5-inch) downpour which hit the Red Sea city of Jeddah and its surroundings flooded the roads and tunnels and even brought down a few old houses, it said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

The death toll in Jeddah reached 44, while four others died in the neighbouring province of Mecca, the authority said.

Television footage showed buses almost submerged in storm water in tunnels in Jeddah, while frogmen worked on rescuing stranded motorists.

The rainstorm also hit the Muslim holy city of Mecca where some 2.5 million pilgrims began Wednesday the annual hajj season.