Doha (Doha News): Many motorists in Qatar have spent the morning literally wading through traffic as continuous rainfall has led to heavy flooding on the roads. And then many parents ended up returning to schools to pick up their children after widespread flooding and leakages were reported.
In addition to school closures, the precipitation has caused flight delays and also permeated hotel and malls. Stay tuned for the latest updates here.
Speaking to Doha News, Al Sharq journalist Ahmed Al Mohannadi, said that the capital has turned into a “lake,” adding that heavy rain shouldn’t paralyze the country.
He said although Qatar has new buildings and the MET can predict weather changes beforehand, it still continues to make the same mistakes with regards to construction and its drainage systems, and not having enough equipped emergency squads to deal with the heavy rain.
He added that no one was being held accountable for this problem. “We don’t learn from our previous mistakes,” he said. He also called on SEC to suspend schools tomorrow as well, to prevent any surprises.
However, others said the rain had not disrupted their day, thanks to new drainage works in their areas:
The rain is starting to taper off in many parts of Doha, but traffic gridlock remains, in part because parents are attempting to pick up their children up from school.
The Ministry of Interior is advising anyone who needs emergency assistance to call 999 for help.
