ABU DHABI // After storms and torrential rain, almost 80 per cent of the clean-up across the emirate of Abu Dhabi was complete as the public and private sectors worked together to deal with the damage caused by this week’s extreme weather.
The municipality believed the remaining work would be completed on Friday, with staff on duty day and night.
Spokesman Adel Al Rabeea said: “I hope by Friday you wouldn’t see anything around.”
Since the heavy weather began, the municipality has dealt with 836 cases through its emergency phone lines, and by Thursday night had signed off on 80 per cent of those jobs, Mr Al Rabeea said.
The civic body made every effort to deal with the complaints in the quickest time possible, he said.
Mr Al Rabeea said more than 300 municipal tankers and pumps were used in the clean-up drive in and around Abu Dhabi Island.
“More than 1,000 municipal employees are involved in the post-storm cleaning drive,” he said. “Cleaning has to continue day and night in coordination with police, Musanada, centre of waste management and the private sector as well. Now, we all are one body and fighting the crisis altogether.”
He said the drainage system of Abu Dhabi city was very good, and that no waterlogging issues were reported.
Mr Al Rabeea said that some industrial estates that did not have the drainage systems to cope with such a large quantity of water faced problems, but all were sorted out efficiently.
According to the municipality, the largest rainwater accumulations were reported in New Al Falah area, on the city’s outskirts.
The municipality was assessing the situation in the area to stop a repeat of the flooding there.
Musabbah Mubarak Al Murar, acting general manager of Abu Dhabi City Municipality, said the flood response “reflects the municipality’s societal responsibility and its keenness to provide the required logistic support, and full care to all residents”.
“The emergency teams assess residents’ conditions on regular basis to meet their needs and ensure their comfort and safety.”
In Al Ain, the municipality also set its sights on ensuring normality by Friday.
“Around 650 people were engaged in cleaning and addressing the waterlogging,” said Sultan Al Shamsi, public relations manager at the municipality.
“Water-logged houses and fallen trees were the major issues.”
He said municipality staff expected to work into tomorrow to complete clean-up operations.
An area around the Etisalat headquarters in the capital was cordoned off after strong winds, which had reached speeds of 126kph, damaged the spherical structure on top of the building.
The company said it took all measures to verify the safety of the building and that “there is no reason for concern”, expecting the problem to be fixed soon.
In the Northern Emirates, families stranded by floodwaters were rescued and others taken to hospitals by the air wing of the Ministry of Interior.
The air wing had a busy couple of days and rescued dozens of people trapped by floods or injured in road accidents.
In one case, an elderly man who was trapped in a car in a valley was lifted by crane, and a family of 12 were rescued after they were stranded in Al Maqam desert in Sharjah, the ministry said yesterday.
Col Salem Al Suwaidi, deputy director of the air wing, said: “The humanitarian missions that the air ambulance aircraft carried out from their base in Sharjah in the past two days led to the rescue of 63 people. Efforts were coordinated with police stations throughout the country.”
He said the rescue operations were concentrated in Al Maqam valley in the emirate of Sharjah.
It was the scene of several rescue operations throughout the day on Wednesday, Mr Al Suwaidi said.
Operations led to the rescue of an Emirati family of nine and another family of five, a group of seven Asians, another group of five Emirati young men, a family of 12 including six women, four children and two infants, and a family of nine was transported to the other side of the valley.
Col Saif Salem Al Dah, head of the air wing in the Northern Emirates, urged the public not to leave their homes unless in cases of emergency.
He said the public should avoid the valleys, floods and the sea, and use security equipment, life jackets and GPS devices.
The Emirates Red Crescent said on Thursday it had accommodated 141 citizens and residents in Sharjah, Fujairah and Al Ain whose houses were damaged, acting on directives of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of the ERC.
anwar@thenational.ae
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
Company%20profile
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Greatest Royal Rumble results
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
