Waterlogged areas cause traffic congestion; RTA says situation under control
No roads were closed on Wednesday despite the heavy rains in Dubai, but the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said it is coordinating with the Dubai Municipality to clear waterlogged areas, which could cause traffic congestion.
According to the RTA, the situation was under control. “With its Traffic and Roads Agency, RTA is monitoring the areas, but there is no area in the city, where roads are closed or traffic is diverted due to the heavy rains.”
“There is a well coordinated move between RTA and the Dubai Municipality in clearing water-logged areas, and it is already in control,” it said.
Officials from the Sewage and Irrigation Department of the Dubai Municipality said the technical, supervisory and administrative teams of the department were fully engaged in rainwater management since Tuesday night.
The department assigned about 45 diesel pumps and tankers to clear the puddles formed in low-lying areas and some roads on Wednesday.
“We have been pumping out water from areas where these puddles have formed. But, people should understand that this is not just what we are doing to manage rainwater. We have a well-built storm water network connected through 60 stations across the emirate,” an official told Khaleej Times.
He said as many as 800 employees of the Department worked on two shifts to make sure the storm water network was working at full capacity without any problem and all roads and main areas are clear of flooding.
“When there is a rain forecast, we always ensure that all stations are in good condition. The amount of rainfall is well within the capacity of the network and we did not have any major flooding reported except for some puddles in low-lying areas in Rashidiya, Hor Al Anz and Al Quoz where we have deployed these tankers and pumps,” he said adding that enough preparations are in place to handle the rain expected in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the municipality’s Call Centre that operates the toll free hotline number 800900 rceived about 200 notifications related to rain till Wednesday afternoon. “There were no major incidents. Most of the callers reported water-logging in their areas and wanted us to send our workers to clear the puddles,” said the Head of the Call Centre Mohammed Ahmed Al Luz. Earlier in the day the civic body also tweeted to caution the public about driving during rains.The Global Village remained closed on Wednesday due to the rains.
Traffic jam in Sharjah
Meanwhile in Sharjah, heavy traffic jams continued due to clogged rainwater in streets and roundabouts.
Abdul Aziz Al Mansouri, Deputy Director of Sharjah Municipality, said the Emergency Committee continued its efforts to drain out water from its inundated industrial areas for over 24 hours and is working to clean and repair the affected roads. The committee made inspectional visits to the affected schools in the emirate and pumped out rain water from the flooded school grounds. He added that they used 120 diesel pumps and 60 water tanks to drain out the water from the affected areas. He added that priority was given to residential areas and main roads.
RAK residentsafraid of flooding
In Ras Al Khaimah, little to moderate rains were recorded. However, local residents said they were worried that most of the houses and internal roads would be flooded as was the case in the last rains.
Mohammed Salem, an Emirati, said many houses developed cracks during the last torrential rains. There was flooding and water and electricity supplies were cut. “The rains have destroyed our furniture and properties,” he said, calling for urgent action from the bodies concerned. The RAK police also warned seafarers, beach and valleys goers. More traffic patrols were deployed on all the internal and highways of the emirate. Residents were urged to call 072356611; 072356600; 072356998 or 072356999 in case of emergency.
Mariam bint Mohammed Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of Social Affairs has directed workers in the Social Security Administration and the offices of Social Affairs to take urgent measures to aid those affected by the current rains and to provide assistance to them.
Al Roumi said that public, private and ministry staff are working hard to provide relief for those families and individuals when needed.
