Leisure trip turns tragedy as Dubai boy drowns in floods

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Leisure trip turns tragedy as Dubai boy drowns in floods
Abu Dhabi Municipality workers clear uprooted trees in Khalidiya on Thursday. - Photos by Ryan Lim

Dubai - His brothers tried to rescue him repeatedly, but could not due to strong currents.

by

Amira Agarib

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Published: Fri 11 Mar 2016, 9:10 PM

Last updated: Sat 12 Mar 2016, 1:01 AM

A 7-year-old Emirati boy drowned after the car he was travelling in got swept away in floods in Hatta. The boy was in the car with two of his brothers, both of whom managed to escape.
According to Major Ali Al Naqbi, head of rescue section at the Dubai Police, the driver of the car, a 21-year-old, managed to escape from the car first and rescued one of this brothers. The duo then repeatedly tried to rescue their little brother, but failed to do so as the currents were very strong. That was when they called the police.
A police team rescued the boy and rushed him to the nearest hospital, but he died later.
The tragic incident was reported in the Ghubrah valley on Wednesday as thunderstorms lashed the UAE, flooding several areas.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Police recorded 478 traffic accidents during the rain on Wednesday.
Major Khazraj Al Khazraji, acting director of the control room of the Dubai Police, said accidents started to happen after 11am, and fortunately they were all minor.
He added that out of this, 132 accident complaints were lodged through smart application for reporting traffic accidents.
Clearing the streets
Civic bodies across the UAE worked double time to clear the streets and bring life back to normal after unprecedented rains wreaked havoc across the country.
In Dubai, the municipality received 630 emergency reports, while in Abu Dhabi, the number stood at 836.
Ghaith Dubai team, a rescue taskforce, intensified efforts to handle flooding in every nook and corner of the emirate over the last 24 hours, said Talib Julfar, the municipality's director of drainage and irrigation, who is also head of Dubai Ghaith.
"The team coordinated with the RTA to face any aftermaths and fallouts of the downpours since Wednesday, and which affected many parts of the emirate," he said adding the team did its duties in the best manner possible.
The number of water takers used to drain out rain water stood at 50 from the Dubai Municipality and 40 from the private sector. A total of 1,000 workers were deployed in different areas to clean up the storm water drains.
Citing the geodesic and maritime survey section at the Survey Department of Dubai Municipality,he said rain water measured 31.2 mm in Al Aweer, 14.8 mm in Jadaf, 48 mm in Al Warqaa; 155mm in Hatta; 70mm in Umm Suqeim; and 150mm in Jebel Ali.
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi City Municipality successfully evicted an Emirati family in Bani Yas to a hotel on Wednesday after their house incurred damage as a result of the thunderstorm.
Musabbah Mubarak Al Murar, acting general manager of Abu Dhabi City Municipality, said: "The move reflects the municipality's societal responsibility and its keenness to provide the required logistic support, and full care to all residents."
Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi City Municipality continued to mobilise emergency teams who work day and night to sign off all reported cases, remove debris from roads, drain rainwater and address all consequences resulting from the weather conditions.
Since the weather vagaries started, the municipality has received more than 836 reported cases, and has successfully signed off 80 per cent of them. The civic body is making every effort to sign-off the standing complaints at the earliest time possible. The municipality adopts a systematic plan to deal with the reported cases by setting priorities and taking into account all security and safety measures.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

Teachers evacuated in Abu DhabiAbu Dhabi - The Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) has evacuated teachers from their accommodation facilities in the Western region, namely Al Mirfa and Gayathi, as a precautionary measure during the severe weather conditions.
Adec said the teachers and their families were moved to hotels temporarily before being shifted to safer locations in the coming days.
The teachers' accommodation in Al Mirfa consists of 29 housing units, while Gayathi accommodation has 21 units. - Wam
Weather stabilises, but fog expected 
The intensity of unstable weather conditions has weakened gradually, the National Centre of Meteorology & Seismology (NCMS) said on Thursday.
Today, the weather will be stable in general, with partly cloudy condition over some areas at times. Light to moderate winds in general are expected. Relative humidity will increase during the night and early morning over some internal and coastal areas with a chance of fog formation.


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