Rain brings life to a crawl in Doha

Rain brings life to a crawl in Doha
Published: GULF-TIMES Monday, 14 January, 2008, 05:40 AM Doha Time

LIFE was thrown out of gear in Doha yesterday as rains flooded the low-lying areas and streets, causing traffic chaos and stranding several people in jams.
A few cars broke down. Some vehicles that fell into water-filled ditches had to be pulled out, using cranes.
As the low-lying areas were submerged, people were seen struggling to get out of their houses. Many of the vehicles parked in the open and on roadsides were in two-feet deep water.
“My father is physically challenged and walks with the help of a stick. It was a terrible effort for him to get into his car,” one resident said. “But this has been an annual feature for the last three decades,” he added.
A Mamoura resident said it took him almost two hours to get to his office on the C-Ring Road.
“I saw a few cars breaking down at the Tadamon roundabout where the water was quite deep,” he said.
“Coming from the Old Airport towards Lulu Hypermarket, I found myself struggling behind the wheel, as there was water on both sides of the road,” a motorist said.
Those who depended on taxis found it hard to get one as there were fewer cabs on the streets.
“After half an hour of waiting, a Karwa driver picked me up, but there were four other passengers already in the car. But I was just glad to be inside the vehicle, away from the downpour,” said a resident of the Umm Ghwalina area.
The brighter side of the situation was that most motorists were found to be showing utmost patience while caught in the traffic jams as well as driving on the slippery roads.
There were unconfirmed reports of the ceiling of a classroom in a school caving in, but no injuries have been reported.
The weather office has predicted more rains for today and tomorrow. The mercury is also forecast to take a dip with the temperature reaching 7 degrees Celsius tomorrow. The maximum temperature will be 14 degrees.
Abdulla Mohamed al-Mannai, head of the weather forecast and analysis section, advised residents to protect themselves from the cold weather. “Riyadh is expecting near freezing temperatures on Tuesday and that might have an impact on Doha weather as well,” he added.