Huge clean-up in Sharjah and Ajman after torrential rain

Drainage machines and water tankers had to be used to help clear the excess water after heavy rain in Sharjah on Monday. Christopher Pike / The National

SHARJAH // A huge clean-up operation was under way on Tuesday after heavy flooding across the emirate.

Drainage machines and water tankers had to be used to help clear the excess water.

The industrial areas were particularly hard hit by torrential downpours on Monday and many of the main roads were not clear from flooding until about 1pm.

Five tankers were still trying to drain water from the industrial area 2 road late on Tuesday, with the area around the Hyundai Machinery trading building the worst affected.

Many internal roads in industrial areas remained flooded and muddy.

The municipality deployed about 130 water tanks and 160 drainage machines to remove most of the water from the roads, said Riyadh Airan, the director general of Sharjah Municipality and head of the rain emergency committee.

In the city, most roads were clear and traffic was moving normally from late morning.

“The municipality has secured all roads from flooding,” he said.

But there were long queues at car wash companies.

“We have a busy day every time it rains. Our boss wants us to spend less time on every car not to delay other waiting clients,” said Mohammed Khotana, a washer in one of the industrial areas.

In Ajman, the municipality had eight crews draining the roads.

Yahya Al Reyasa, the director general of Ajman Municipality, said the main roads had been cleared by Tuesday afternoon but some flooding persisted in residential areas.

“Traffic is smooth on all the main roads and our teams are now concentrating on clearing the residential areas,” he said.

Roads in Dubai were also free of water and no major damage was caused by the rain.

“The contact centre received only a few notification calls on small incidents during and after the rain. Most of the calls were related to the traffic blocks due to heavy water,” said Khalid Badri, the director of Dubai Municipality’s contact centre.

The unsettled weather is set to continue for about three days and the sea will also be rough, according to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology.