Damage control gets going on war footing

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 3 March 2010

Pix by Nisham A Manaf

The heavy rains across the country right through Monday night and the continued drizzle till Tuesday evening, caused heavy water-logging in the low-lying clusters of the Emirate of Dubai.

The rainwater, mixed with drainage, accumulated in the industrial areas of the Emirate, forcing the civic body's emergency teams to attend to the affected areas round-the-clock. Worst hit were the low-lying locations in the Emirate.

A senior official of Dubai Municipality (DM) told The Gulf Today that the civic body activated its emergency rain response system, deploying several teams to control the repercussions of the downpour.

Abdul Majid Al Shifai, Director of Irrigation and Drainage Network Department, said employees from the operations and cleaning services section of the Municipality's waste management department pumped out water that had accumulated in Al Quos, Al Qusiais, Jebal Ali and Al Aweer areas.

"Trying to ease the burden on public life in the affected areas, the Municipality has installed its full set of equipments and human resources. About 39 tankers were arranged to collect water in Al Quos area only. Total 89 pumps have been set up, and around 300 employees were involved in the emergency operations until evening," he explained.

Meanwhile, the seashore-proximate Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim areas have been comparatively less affected by the flooding, contrary to earlier reports.

Saidul Abid, a Dubai-based specialist in waste management operations, said that most of the areas from Al Qusais towards the Jebel Ali Industrial Zone, witnessed heavy water-logging that spread to the Emirates Road.

"The water-logging occurred in most of the locations due to overflowing of drainage systems. As for the stink that emanated from the drains, it caused further discomfort to the residents," he added.

Hassan Mohammed Makki, Director of the DM's Waste Management Department had earlier said that the Municipality assigned an exclusive team for cleaning up the storm water drainage system.

"The civic body's emergency team removed remnants of trees uprooted due to rain and storm that also caused the municipal waste containers to move away from the places they were positioned," said Shifai.

"Work is still in force in accordance with the plan of action set for team members," he added.