Witnesses report 'total mayhem' as Al Khail Road floods twice in one day

A Dubai Police source blames the flooding on a burst water main, but no official comment from Dewa and the RTA.

Lorries negotiate a flooded Al Khail road in Dubai.

DUBAI // A burst water main flooded the southbound carriageway of Al Khail Road at 7.30am today, forcing road closures and creating rush-hour mayhem on one of Dubai's busiest highways.

Witnesses reported the road was closed from the Al Barsha exit at Umm Suqeim Road to just past the final Al Quoz exit.

"By 9:30am we were able to open two lanes to allow some traffic through," said Col Saif Al Mazroui, the acting head of traffic department at Dubai Police

"The water was too deep for regular cars to pass, but we were allowing large lorries to pass ."

At noon, a second pipe burst in the same area, he said.

Adding to the confusion, neither the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority nor the Roads and Transport Authority were willing to give any information about the incident, leaving commuters in the dark as to whether or not the road was usable.

Instead, drivers have taken to Twitter to find and share information. Wrote one bemused driver, "Please be advised Al Khail Road has been renamed Al Snail Road until further notice".