AL AIN // Clean-up crews were still hard at work yesterday after a short but violent thunderstorm caused severe damage to homes and businesses in the city on Friday night. However, there were no reported casualties as a result of the storm and high winds, which lasted less than an hour. The Centre of Waste Management-Abu Dhabi announced that more than 100 workers had been assigned to the northern and southern districts of the garden city to remove debris.
The centre was in a "state of maximum mobilisation" in the aftermath of the storm, it said in a statement yesterday, adding that the districts most affected were Towayya, Falaj Hazaa, Al Jimi, Al Massoudi and Shiaab al Askhar. In Al Jimi yesterday afternoon, dozens of hoardings were still lying on the ground alongside uprooted trees and road signs. Premises belonging to Al Ain Municipality, used for celebrations, suffered serious damage as well, with surrounding walls blown down. Al Jimi Mall was also damaged, but all debris has been cleared from the area.
The roof was struck by flying debris and the wind tore store signs from the mall's facade as well as demolishing a number of car ports. "There was so much devastation in such a short time that it was truly surprising," said David Christie, 54, an English language lecturer at the UAE University in Al Ain, who comes from Britain. "All external decoration at Al Jimi Mall had come down, awnings were blown off and whole palm trees uprooted.
"I saw a large piece of debris 10 metres long by three wide in front of the mall that must have weighed at least a tonne. This is the first time I've experienced a storm of such magnitude in Al Ain." Neither Al Ain Municipality nor Al Jimi Mall had finished assessing the damage last night, and were still estimating the cost of repairs. Friday night's was the second major storm to hit Al Ain in six months.
In March high winds, rain, thunder and lightning struck the city, causing millions of dirhams in damage, mostly in the Al Hilli and Bida bint Saud districts. ealghalib@thenational.ae