Traffic slows down in heavy rain

With Qatar receiving heavy downpour for the second day running in the afternoon yesterday, many roads, including those on the western side of Doha were reportedly flooded.

There were also reports of severe waterlogging in other areas.

As on the first day, Muaither and its surroundings and the Doha Industrial area were heavily affected with waters flooding some of the streets in these places.

According to information received from residents of these areas, the situation that followed the rains yesterday was similar to what these 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 yesterday at a location in Muaither.

There was similar or even greater demand for tankers, for clearing rainwater from the Industrial Area streets as well. Their activities are expected to continue even today.

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

Waterlogging continued for the second successive day in many of the inner roads of Doha, too, especially in Doha Jadeed, Mansoura and Farij Abdul Azeez.

The roads surrounding Souq Waqif were marooned and no traffic was seen in the area for a while.

Visibility fell considerably across the country in the wake of the rains and it had its effect on traffic flow.

Fishermen also informed that Halul and other places experienced good rains between 3pm and 4pm. 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 vehicular movement.

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

Later, Qatar Meteorology director Abdulla al-Mannai revealed that the rains may be weaker today (Monday).

As seen on GulfTimes  Image Credits GulfTimes