A water pond near Ibn Battuta Gate after a two-day downpour in Dubai, which also triggered road snarls and accidents across the Emirates. - Photo by Neeraj Murali
Sharjah, Dubai - The non-emergency number 901 received 1,115 calls related to rains
By Afkar Abdullah and Amira Agarib
Published: Mon 27 Mar 2017, 5:58 PM
Last updated: Mon 27 Mar 2017, 8:47 PM
Scattered rains across the UAE are expected to continue today, with the lowest temperature falling to 20 degrees Celsius.
The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) has predicted more rain and cloud formations in all seven Emirates today.
The weather is predicted to be similar to that seen on Sunday.
The NCMS tweeted:
The NCMS said that rain will continue on Tuesday. However, it won't be as heavy and it will be partly sunny, with a decrease in cloud formations.
Over the weekend, over 100 mm of rain was recorded across the UAE, causing 15 inbound flights to Dubai to be diverted and causing flooding and landslides in parts of the country, particularly in Ras Al Khaimah.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Airports took to Twitter to issue a warning to flyers:
3 killed, 7 hurt in rain-related accidents
Three people died and seven others were seriously injured in traffic accidents that took place on the rainy weekend in various parts of Sharjah. The traffic situation was compounded by the heavy showers and strong winds that were witnessed by the country over the past few days.
According to the police, a total of 9,016 calls and complaints were made to 999, all related to rain emergencies and accidents. The non-emergency number 901 also received 1,115 calls related to rains and requests for help.
Major Mohammed Al Gazal, director of the Sharjah Police operations department, said that the calls - which were classified based on its nature and its seriousness - were all addressed and dealt with immediately. "The police have responded to all calls and complaints quickly and professionally, 24 hours of the day, during these rains," he said
Major Mohammed Allal, head of the traffic and patrol department, said speeding, failure to keep enough distance between cars and sudden diversions during the rain were the major causes of accident that were recorded during the weekend.
Motorists are urged to follow traffic rules, specially the speed limit, respect the rights of other motorists on the road and drive cautiously on both highways and internal roads.
Major Al Allai warned residents of Kalba, Dibba and Khor Fakkan of dangerous running water from valleys and advised them to stay away from areas around water dams.
Almost 1,500 accidents in Dubai
At least 1,447 accidents were recorded in Dubai during the weekend. The Department of Command and Control got a total of 20,653 rain-related calls.
Lt.-Col Turki Abdulrahman bin Fares, director of the command and control centre at the operations room, called on all drivers and road users to be cautious and avoid speeding. He called on drivers to check the weather through various media and to allow enough time to reach their destination to avoid serious traffic accidents.
Over 3,000 workers pressed into action to clean streets in Dubai
The massive rain and turbulent weather resulted in clogged streets and cancelled events over the weekend, but the Dubai Municipality teams swung into action to clean the streets.
Talib Julfar, assistant director-general of Dubai Municipality for environment and public health services, and team leader of Ghaith Dubai - which supervises storm water - said more than 3,000 people, including labourers, inspectors, technicians and other officials, were pressed into service around the clock.
He said the Dubai horse race arena was also cleaned to facilitate the prestigious Dubai World Cup. "All these streets were cleaned of accumulated water, and the sand, debris and residues washed away with rain have also been removed from the roads."
A total of 50 tankers belonging to the municipality and 60 others belonging to contractors were used in cooperation with the Roads and Transport Authority.
"The labourers, technicians and other team members deployed in the affected areas throughout the emirate worked with a competitive spirit," he said. "With regard to cleaning the manholes, Dubai has a sandy environment, so you need to make more effort and this is part of the responsibility of Dubai Municipality during the rain."
- reporters@khaleejtimes.com
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