Strong winds down trees, shatter windows in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Police responded to 1,391 calls between midnight and 4am on Friday night as strong winds and heavy rain lashed the capital.

Scaffolding that collapsed in Abu Dhabi after strong winds hit the capital damaged 13 cars. Courtesy Lee Yong Wei

ABU DHABI // Thirteen cars were badly damaged, windows were broken and trees were ripped out of the ground when strong winds swept across Abu Dhabi in the early hours on Friday.

Abu Dhabi Police responded to 272 traffic incidents in the space of four hours as a result of heavy rain with lightning, thunder, low temperature, high winds, dust and mud.

Lt Col Nasser Suleiman Al Maskari, director at the central operations department of Abu Dhabi Police, said they received 1,391 calls between midnight and 4am. The calls peaked between 2am and 3am on Friday, with more than 560 reporting fallen trees and signs, shattered glass and other obstructions.

Scaffolding from a demolition site on Airport Road smashed 13 cars at about 2am.

“A loud crashing sound woke us all up,” said Emad El Behisy, 39, a resident of the adjacent building. “We live on the 12th floor on the bookshop building nearby and saw the extent of the damage from outside our window.”

A policeman at the scene confirmed no one was hurt. He would not verify whether it was caused by weak scaffolding, strong winds or negligence.

The ground below the building was scattered with fallen wood, glass and iron bars. A huge crowd milled around the site on Friday while a few workers began clearing the debris.

Mr El Behisy, the owner of a 4x4, stood helpless a few metres away from the site. “I just bought that car – a 2014 Infinity QX70 – four months ago,” he said. “The broken scaffolding damaged the front part.”

Police warned residents to move their vehicles and cordoned off the area with tape.

Mohammed Mansour, 40, an X-ray technician and an Abu Dhabi resident for 10 years, said people in the area were aware that the building was to be demolished in a month’s time.

“My family and I live at the end of the street but we often manage to get a parking spot here,” he said. “Alhamdullilah, my car isn’t one of the damaged cars.”

It was a close call, however, for his friend Abdulhamid Mohammed, 40, who parked his white Toyota Corolla near the site on Thursday night.

“After seeing all the smashed cars, I’m so lucky that I left my parking spot and drove to the grocery at 10pm last night,” he said.

On Reem Island, strong winds and heavy rains almost blew windows out of their frames and kicked up debris from balconies.

“At our building, I had to stop our clothes drying rack from flying away on the balcony,” said Ehsan Al Awadhi, a 29-year-old Emirati.

“Then I saw all sorts of objects flying off the balconies of other apartments. The little mangrove in front of our apartment building turned into a mini ocean with waves and everything.”

Lt Col Al Maskari of Abu Dhabi Police assured the community of round-the-clock safety and security.

The Western Region witnessed medium to light rain on Thursday night, which continued until early on Friday. The rains were accompanied by strong winds, thunder and lightning.

Rainfall also drenched parts of Madinat Zayed and its suburbs, and rains were also reported on Delma Island, in the Tarif area, Mirfa, Sala, Ghayathi and Liwa.

“The operations room was prepared to respond to any emergency, thanks to the efficient coordination between the different police patrols and its strategic partners who directed it in handling more than 272 traffic reports and 197 security and criminal reports,” Lt Col Al Maskari said.