Incessant heavy rainfall in Saudi Arabia has brought life to a standstill. Schools and several other public institutions remained closed even on Thursday.
The storm system which moved across Saudi Arabia to enter Qatar on Wednesday caused deluge in this Gulf country as well. In fact, the weather system brought a year’s worth of rain over Doha, the capital city Qatar, in just 12 hours.
Overnight rain in Doha made many roads nearly impassable for commuters. According to local media reports, even Doha's Hamad International Airport was affected. The Qatar Meteorology Department recorded around 66 mm of rainfall around the airport. Nevertheless, flights were operating normally, despite inclement weather conditions.
Abnormal deluge in Doha
The geographical location of the Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia and Qatar are such that they do not receive very heavy rainfall normally.
Qatar has a sub-tropical desert climate with an annual rainfall of just over 50 mm. The streets did not take too long to get flooded, with gridlock being reported at many places.
The US embassy was forced to shut down on Wednesday and the offices would not open again until next week.
Due to inclement weather, the US Embassy in #Qatar will be closed today. The Embassy will re-open with normal hours on Sunday, November 29.
— U.S. Embassy Qatar (@USEmbassyQatar) November 25, 2015
Rainfall in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia also has sun-baked desert soils and drainage systems, which are unable to cope with the rapid run-off.
Click here to read the story, Heavy rainfall wreaks havoc in Jeddah, Riyadh and Qassim
In Rimah, Northeast of Riyadh, one person has died and 72 stranded motorists were rescued on Wednesday. In the capital city’s western outskirts, around 10 cars were found submerged under two meters of water in an underpass.
The Saudi Press Agency said the rains also struck the city of Buraidah, some 320 km northwest of Riyadh, as well as the surrounding Qasim province.
Heavy rainfall lashed the capital of Qasim province, Buraidah, as well. Here five houses were inundated, trees uprooted and signboards collapsed.
Caution still needs to be exercised as rain and thundershowers will continue over the region for next few days. However, the intensity of rainfall has now reduced.
Image credit - gulf-times.com
