28 November 2016
By Ramesh Mathew

When for the second day running Qatar received heavy downpour in the afternoon, many roads, especially those on the western side of Doha were reportedly flooded and there were reports of severe water logging in many areas.

As on the first day, Muaither and surroundings and Doha Industrial area were heavily hit and waters flooded some of the streets in such places.

According to information from residents of those areas, the situation that followed the rains on Sunday was also most similar to what those localities had experienced on Saturday.

Representatives of a sewage clearing firm said more than 50 vehicles belonging to their company were at work both on Saturday and Sunday at a single location in Muaither. There was similar or even greater demand for tankers for clearing rain water from the Industrial Area streets as well. Their works are expected to continue even today.

Vehicular movement was abysmally slow on Doha -Industrial Area road, Salwa road, Al Waab signal and surroundings, Corniche and Shamal Expressway among others, inquiries found.

Water logging continued for the second successive day in many of the inner roads of Doha, especially in Doha Jadeed, Mansoura and Fariq Abdul Azeez.

The roads surrounding Souq Waqif were marooned and no traffic was possible through the area for a while. Visibility had fallen considerably across the country in the wake of rains and it had its effect on traffic flow.

Fishermen also informed that Halul and other places also experienced good rains between 3pm and 4 pm. Some of the boats which left Doha for fishing in those areas are now berthed in Halul and are expected to return only when weather conditions improve.

While cautioning the residents on the necessity of driving carefully, the Ministry of Interior has tweeted that traffic patrols were stationed at a number of locations to ease traffic.

Though there were reports of electricity disruption on Saturday in parts of Doha, and even outside the city, there were no such information on Sunday. However, there were reports of water leaking through the roofs of some of the new buildings, including shopping centres.

Later when contacted Qatar Meteorology director Abdulla al-Mannai said rains may be weaker onMonday, compared to Sunday.

© Gulf Times 2016