Abu Dhabi: The capital has been drenched with heavy rain that has left many external roads waterlogged or congested, and the wet weather is set to continue.
The UAE’s weather bureau, the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology, announced earlier that showers can be expected across the country on Wednesday, with cloudy and dusty conditions.
Seas could also be very rough and seafarers have been urged to stay away, while motorists have been advised to exercise caution on the roads by traffic authorities.
After light drizzle yesterday (Tuesday) evening, the downpour got heavier during the night, with frequent thunder and lightning. While the rain stopped for a while in the morning, skies remained cloudy and temperatures have dropped.
The Abu Dhabi Police announced in a statement that due to the rainfall, its central operations room had received 1,040 calls from Abu Dhabi City and Al Ain by 12pm today (Wednesday). Yesterday (Tuesday), 2,156 calls were made. Information about the number of traffic incidents was however not immediately available.
According to residents’ reports, Shaikh Zayed Street faced heavy congestion in the inbound direction towards Abu Dhabi.
“As I was driving out of Abu Dhabi at 9am this morning, I noticed a lot of traffic all the way up to and beyond Shaikh Zayed Bridge. And near Shahama, the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway had been flooded and maintenance vehicles were trying to drain it,” said A.H., an Emirati business owner in the capital, told Gulf News.
A.H. also said there were more traffic patrol cars on the road than usual, and that areas which seemed especially slippery or flooded had been cordoned off.
Muna A., 32, an Emirati media executive, said that roads were also deluged in the morning near her home in Mohammad Bin Zayed City.
Taxi drivers also reported traffic jams in the Mina area, and in key thoroughfares of the city.
“It normally takes me five minutes to get from Mina to Sultan Bin Zayed Street, but took me more than 20 minutes on the way to pick up a customer today. People are also driving very recklessly,” said Abu Bakr, a driver from India.
Attendance was also lower at schools.
“Our attendance is lower by about five per cent today due to the weather conditions, but the nearby roads are still fairly usable,” said Peter Lugg, principal at the Cambridge High School, located in Abu Dhabi’s Mussaffah area.
