Heavy rain lashes UAE: Freak storms, strong winds, 12ft waves

January 19, 2015

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Dubai, Jan 19: Residents across the UAE are in for another 12 hours of stormy, wet weather that is expected to continue until Tuesday morning, with winds already reaching 65kmph.

A marine warning is also in place, with the NCMS stating it has recorded waves peaking at 12 feet in the waters of the Arabian Gulf on Monday.

A ‘freak hail storm’ in Abu Dhabi brought traffic to a standstill on Monday morning, even as the rest of the country battled thunderstorms and flooding, especially in parts of Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Ajman.

A spokesperson for the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) spoke to Emirates 24|7 saying: “The highest rainfall recorded on Monday morning was 38.2mm, which was at Jabal Jais in Ras Al Khaimah.”

Temperatures at Jabal Jais also plummeted to 4.8°Celsius, with the NCMS warning of temperatures dropping by five degrees in the past 24 hours.

NCMS further added: “This unstable weather pattern will continue until Tuesday, peaking on Monday evening, and weaken by next morning.

“The intensity of rain is also causing flooding in parts of the country, along with low visibility, dropping to 1,000 metres, further hindered by rising dust in open areas.”

Talking about the hail storm in Abu Dhabi, the NCMS added: “This is what you call a freak and intense hail storm that was experienced in parts of Abu Dhabi.

“Due to its intensity, it may appear as snow, but it isn’t.”

Meanwhile, authorities have already deployed emergency crew on water-clogged streets, warning residents of flash floods in the mountains and wadis over the next 24 hours.

RAK Police and Sharjah have stated emergency teams are on the main streets to handle urgent situations and ensure smooth traffic and drainage of rainwater.

Dubai Police has also requested residents to stay put in a safe place if the severity of rain increases and visibility drops.

Organisers of the Sharjah World Music Festival has rescheduled its concerts due to the weather, stating concerts at the Heart of Sharjah will be moved to Masrah Al Qasba - Theatre (19 and 20 January).

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Rain causes traffic chaos in morning

A vehicle has caught fire on Sheikh Zayed Road this morning, northbound, with Dubai Police confirming the incident, even as Civil Defence crews arrive on the scene. According to images, a black SUV has caught fire and is in the emergency breakdown lane at the central divider.

Dubai Police tweeted the same saying: "A vehicle caught on fire on Sheikh Zayed Road from the 4th bridge towards Dubai, resulting in traffic delays."

The traffic situation on E66 has worsened, with commuters reporting of being stuck in traffic for an hour around 9.30am. An eye witness spoke to Emirates 24|7 saying: "The road is free flowing from Al Ain, up until Dubai Outlet Mall; then it’s complete gridlock from Skycourts and beyond, heading into Dubai."

Dubai Police has also warned of traffic congestion on Oman Street, heading towards Baghdad Street. There is also slow moving traffic reported heading towards Business Bay from Sharjah and the Airport Tunnel.

The RTA Sharjah has appealed to morning commuters to be careful and ensure the efficiency of their windshield wipers and brakes before setting off in the rainy weather.

The Ras Al Khaimah Police has also appealed to drivers of saloon cars to avoid entering water-clogged streets where their vehicles may get stuck.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) has warned people to stay away from flowing water, tweeting: “In cases of rain and lightning, stay away from flowing water streams and valleys.”

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai warned commuters to switch on their headlights when driving through the rainy conditions today.

Sharjah Municipality has tweeted: "All road users exercise extra caution when driving during and after rainfall for their and other's safety."

Residents of Discovery Gardens report traffic jams blocking movement out of the area.

Tweets have begun to pour in citing the rain impact and strong winds blowing across the country. The nation's weather bureau, the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) has tweeted: "Heavy thundery rain over AlRuwais and adjoning."

One radio station tweeted: "Some flooding being reported on the drive in to Dubai from Sharjah".

Overcast skies gave way to rain showers that lashed parts of the country in the morning hours, even as the 'unstable' weather pattern is forecasted to blow in some thunder and strong winds until Tuesday.

The country's weather bureau has warned the country will face stormy skies over the next 24 hours, as wind speeds pick up to 60 kilometres per hour over the waters of the Arabian Gulf, while dropping by 10kmph or so over land.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7, a spokesperson for the UAE's NCMS said: "The unstable weather pattern, which started late on Monday, will continue until midday on Tuesday, bringing with it fresh to strong winds over the sea, scattered rain is most of the country and rising dust over open areas."

The spokesperson stated the weather was caused due to the cold air in the upper atmosphere, resulting a deep low pressure system with a very strong upward motion that will create extra water vapour in the atmosphere and low clouds.

"The thunderstorms will be temporary, limited largely to the northern part of the country, specifically Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah, but the rains will be experienced even in Dubai and Abu Dhabi," the spokesperson further added.

Cooler climes

Meanwhile, residents may want to reach for their sweaters once again, as the rain and the high winds will also create a significant drop in the Mercury, with the NCMS stating the weather will see a five-degree Celsius drop in the coming days.

"The average lows could reach between six and 12 degrees Celsius in parts of the country," the spokesperson further added.

The NCMS has also warned of rough sea conditions over the next 24 hours, across the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

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Arab News
March 21,2020

Jeddah, Mar 21: Saudi government ministers on Friday announced a war chest of more than SR120 billion ($32 billion) to fight the “unprecedented” health and economic challenges facing the country as a result of the killer coronavirus pandemic.

During a press conference in Riyadh, finance minister and acting minister of economy and planning, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, unveiled a SR70 billion stimulus package to support the private sector, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and businesses worst-hit by the virus outbreak.

And the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has also sidelined SR50 billion to help the Kingdom’s banking sector, financial institutions and SMEs.

Al-Jadaan said the government had introduced tough measures to protect the country’s citizens while immediately putting in place a financial safety net. He added that the Kingdom was moving decisively to address the global COVID-19 disease crisis and cushion the financial and economic impact of the outbreak on the country.

The SR70 billion package of initiatives revealed by the minister will include exemptions and postponement of some government dues to help provide liquidity for private-sector companies.

Minister of Health Dr. Tawfig Al-Rabiah noted the raft of precautionary measures that had been introduced by the Kingdom in cooperation with the private sector and government agencies to combat the spread of the coronavirus, highlighting the important contribution of the data communication services sector.

He reassured the Saudi public that the Kingdom would continue to do whatever was required to tackle the crisis.

“This pandemic has a lot of challenges. It’s difficult to make presumptions at this moment as we’ve seen; many developed countries did not expect the rate of transmission of this virus.

“We see that the reality of the situation is different from what many expected. The virus is still being studied and though we know the means of transmission, it is transmitted at a very fast rate, having spread to many countries faster than expected.

“We see that many countries have not taken the strong precautionary measures from the beginning of the crisis which led to the vast spread of the virus in these countries,” Al-Rabiah said.

He pointed out that social distancing would help slow the spread.

Al-Jadaan said the Saudi government had the financial and economic capacity to deal with the situation. “We have large reserves and large investments, but we do not want to withdraw from the reserves more than what was already announced in the budget. We do not want to liquidate any of the government’s investments so we will borrow.

“We have approval from the government after the finance committee raised its recommendations to increase the proportion of the domestic product borrowing from 30 percent to 50 percent. We do not expect to exceed 50 percent from now until the end of 2022,” he added.

The government would use all the tools available to it to finance the private sector, especially SMEs, and ensure its ongoing stability.

The finance minister said that at this stage it was difficult to predict the economic impact of the pandemic on the private sector, but he emphasized that international coordination, most notably through G20 countries and health organizations, was ongoing.

On recorded cases of the COVID-19 disease in the Kingdom, Al-Rabiah said: “Many of the confirmed cases are without symptoms, this is due to the precautionary measures being considered.

“As soon as a case is confirmed, we contact and examine anyone who was in direct contact with the patient. This epidemiological investigation, is conducted on a large scale to investigate any case that was in contact with the patient.”

Al-Jadaan also announced the formation of a committee made up of the ministers of finance, economy and planning, commerce, and industry and mineral resources, along with the vice chairman of the board of the Saudi National Development Fund, and its governor.

The committee will be responsible for identifying and reviewing incentives, facilities, and other initiatives led by the fund.

Committees had also been established, said Al-Jadaan, to study the impact and repercussions of the coronavirus crisis on all sectors and regions, and look at ways of overcoming them through subsidies or stimulus packages.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Dubai, Feb 24: Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, the countries' health ministries announced, adding all had come from Iran.

Kuwait reported three infections and Bahrain one in citizens who had returned home from the Islamic republic.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Mar 28: Just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Abu Dhabi crown prince on the Coronavirus Pandemic, India “thanked the UAE authorities for accommodating the 19 Indian nationals who were stuck at Dubai airport for past several days”.

The Indian mission in Dubai tweeted, “They got stranded due to various restrictions to deal with Covid-19 pandemic. Hotel rooms have been given to them inside the airport. Our Consulate had been in constant touch with the Indian nationals and UAE and Indian authorities. We had also provided some financial help to enable our stranded passengers to buy food. The situation was tough due to the pandemic situation.”

During their conversation last evening, Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan had “assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the welfare of the over two million Indians living in UAE and contributing to its economy”. PM Modi “thanked the Crown Prince for his personal attention to the health and safety of Indian expatriates in the present situation”.    

A statement issued late on Thursday night by the MEA said, “The two leaders exchanged information and views on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the situation in their respective countries, as well as the steps being taken by their Governments. They agreed that the next few weeks would be crucial to control the spread of the virus, and required concerted and coordinated efforts by all countries. In this context, they appreciated the organisation of a Virtual Summit among G20 Leaders earlier in the day, to discuss the pandemic.

Both leaders emphasised the importance they attach to the strength and richness of the bilateral relationship. They agreed to maintain regular consultations between their officials in the present situation, particularly to ensure continuity of logistical supply lines.”

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