Over 700 rescued, no casualties as rains end in RAK

Ras Al Khaimah - RAK Police announced that the unstable weather has ended and no casualties have been reported.

As rains lashed the emirate over the past few days, 702 people got stranded on mountains and valleys and some 20 families got stuck in their homes ravaged by flash floods. All of them have been rescued by the Ras Al Khaimah Police, with the help of Dubai and Abu Dhabi authorities and the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC).
On Monday, the RAK Police announced that the unstable weather has ended and no casualties have been reported.
Major-General Ali Abdullah bin Alwan Al Nuaimi, General Commander of the RAK Police, said they have never come across such an inclement weather in a long time.
"Thanks to Almighty Allah, everything was under control, and not a single person was hurt."
He said: "The RAK Police, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Police, have rescued up to 702 people who were stranded on several mountains and valleys."
On Jebel Jais alone, some 570 residents - who had to spend a sleepless night on the mountain - were moved to safety via rescue choppers and police vehicles, as Khaleej Times reported.
All the 20 families that have been evacuated from their flooded homes were provided with accommodations at different hotels in the emirate, along with food, water, medicines and other supplies, the police said.
Seven of them were rescued by the ERC's Ras Al Khaimah branch. Two families were based in Fahleen area while the rest were in Shaam, said Mansur Al Naqbi, director of the ERC in RAK. All their houses were close to a flooded valley.
"Their houses have been flooded and the heavy rains destroyed their properties and household items," said Al Naqbi.
Round-the-clock operations
Maj-Gen Al Nuaimi said all police stations and civil defence centres across the country have been mobilised to attend to all emergencies. 
"The same has been done round the clock at all sectors, departments and hospitals, while traffic patrols and ambulances have been deployed on all highways and internal roads of the emirate.
A total of 3,072 emergencies were reported to the central operations room of the RAK Police in just two days, he said. 
On top of these cases, 984 emergencies have been reported at the RAK department of public works, said Ahmed Hamad Al Shehi, an advisor to the department.
"These include reports on accumulated rainwater, uprooted trees, falling rocks, cut and flooded roads, flooded houses, and road landslides," Al Shehi told Khaleej Times. 
The department has deployed 27 tankers, along with 10 fixed pumps and 43 mobile pumps, to clear all the water that had accumulated on the roads, he added.
"Our tanker staff drivers have had to do some 783 trips to unclog roads and roundabouts of around 3.9 million gallons of water," said Al Shehi.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Ras Al Khaimah