Rains lash UAE causing floods, traffic affected

December 24, 2013

Dubai_Rain

Dubai, Dec 24: It’s not quite a white Christmas. Showers of rain, not snow, have lashed areas of the country causing flooding of some houses and roads.

Rain was recorded at a high of 28.2 millimetres at Sharjah Airport — almost 10 times the rain recorded at the other weather stations across the country. Dubai Airport registered 3mm, Jess Mountain had 5.8mm, while Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah stations all measured negligble amounts. Despite RAK’s low recording of 0.2 mm, reports of the worst damage came from the emirate.

According to civil defence sources, heavy rains turned most of the internal roads and open sand spaces into pools of water.

“Traffic snarls are everywhere. Some houses, particularly at lower areas, have reportedly been flooded with non-stop rains,” the source said. Dozens of employees could not reach work in the morning as a result of roads being cut off by the rains. “The situation is expected to be worse with employees returning home in the evening.”

The traffic and patrols department of the RAK Police blocked all the roads and streets leading to the valleys most hit by the showers.

The emirate is still recovering from torrential rains, which fell about a month ago, that flooded and cracked many houses in the north, cut water and electricity supplies, and destroyed the furniture.

No major damage in Dubai

Rain caused no serious problems in Dubai, according to the municipality.

Dubai Municipality Sewage and Irrigation Network Department director Hassan Makki said the showers, that started in the emirate on Sunday night, did not cause any major damage.

“All our teams, the technical and administrative people are managing the situation,” said Makki, who also heads the Rain Committee.

Officials urged the public to call the Municipality Contact Centre’s hotline number (800900) to report any serious emergencies.

A National Centre of Meteorology & Seismology spokesman said seas had been very rough, with waves reaching upwards of 12 feet in both the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

“The sea will continue to be rough for the next three days till at least Thursday.”

There had also been winds over the country, with temperatures reaching highs of 24 degrees and lows of 14 degrees. Poor weather conditions including rain did not appear to be abating and may hang around for the next few days, particularly in Abu Dhabi and the west of the country, he said.

However, the weather is what was expected at this time of year, he said.

“It’s pretty much almost the same, just a slight degree from the average in terms of the temperature.”

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News Network
April 25,2020

Riyadh, Apr 25: Saudi Arabia announced nine deaths and 1,197 new cases of the COVID-19 virus on Saturday.

Of these cases, 120 were recorded in Madinah, 364 in Makkah, 271 in Jeddah, 170 in Riyadh and 43 in Dammam.

The number of people who had recovered from the coronavirus in the Kingdom increased to 2,214 after 165 patients were reported to have recovered.

A total of 136 people have died of the disease in the Kingdom so far.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Apr 9: The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, adopted a resolution to grant paid leave to select categories of employees at the federal government.

This move is part of a series of precautionary measures and procedures taken by the UAE government to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

The resolution stipulates that married employees of the federal government may take fully paid leave to take care of their children below the age of 16. The age condition shall not apply to people of determination, as well as in cases where a spouse is subject to self-isolation or quarantine that requires no contact with family members, upon a decision from the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

The resolution also applies to employees whose spouses work in vital health-related occupations, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical jobs that require exposure to infected people, as well as employees of quarantine centres, throughout the emergency period witnessed by the country.

Pursuant to the resolution, the relevant ministry or federal authority may ask employees holding essential technical occupations to work remotely instead of taking leave.

The resolution was issued in line with the UAE government's keenness to support employees and provide them with a safe and healthy working environment, as well as to protect the health and safety of government employees and their families, during the current crisis that requires greater efforts, additional working hours, and in some cases, exposure to infected people.

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KT
April 14,2020

Dubai, Apr 14: Saudi Arabia reported 435 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 5369, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.

According to the ministry of health the number of recoveries today are 84 cases, making total of recoveries in the kingdom 889.

The ministry also confirmed 8 deaths bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 73.

Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew and lockdown on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar. This week the curfew was extended until further notice.

Containment efforts
Saudi authorities are racing to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Mecca, home to 2 million people, reached 1,050 on Monday compared to 1,422 in the capital of Riyadh, a city more than three times the size. Mecca’s large number of undocumented immigrants and cramped housing for migrant workers have made it more difficult to slow the infection rate.

Saudi Arabia has reported one of the lowest rates of infection in the region, with around 5,000 cases in a population of over 30 million.

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