Heaviest rain day in Qatar’s history? No problem, we’ll be back by today, says MME
Just a day after one of the heaviest downpours in Qatar’s history, the country is fast getting back to normalcy.
A large part of credit for this success should go to the many heroes working within the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), who have been working throughout the night.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani visited the Rain Emergency Room at The Assets Sector of Ashghal to closely review the work done to drain out accumulated rainwater from Qatar’s main roads, reported Gulf Times.
Municipality Minister said that Doha witnessed unprecedented rains, which was triple the usual quantities, pointing out that all the devices, pumps, sewage networks, and water drainage in tunnels, streets are working well but will need some time to unload these large quantities.
The main reason for water-logging on the streets was the unprecedented levels of rains that fell in the country on a single day.
The minister highlighted the work done by ministry staff to get the country back on its feet.
“All roads and tunnels will be cleared by the morning (on Sunday). All pumps in the sewage networks and drainage systems are working well. However, it would take a little time for the large quantities of water to be completely pumped out,” he was quoted as saying by Qatar Tribune.
The ministry has deployed more than 450 tankers and 85 pump-mounted vehicles to drain water from the roads.
Abu Hamour, Muaither and Madinat Khalifa were some of the worst-hit areas, with water level reaching around 86mm in those places. However, the minister stressed that the situation was under control.
“There will be continuous follow-up around the clock,” said the minister.
Stories of bravery emerge
Many stories of bravery from policemen and other staff also emerged yesterday.
Thomene Dilley, posting in a popular Facebook group, recalled an act of kindness by policemen as well as two Qatari youth.
“I would like to give a huge shout out to the traffic department and two amazing Qatari guys that helped me today! I got stuck in a massive muddy flooded area near Al Waab and the most amazing traffic officer got out of his car a good few meters down, took off his shoes and dredged through the sludge to come to my aid,” she wrote.
“As I drove off I realised I could not get my vehicle out of 4WD and slowly made my way to a safe area to park. Two young Qatari guys came to my rescue and taught me the trick to get it back into 2WD. I got to most of my deliveries and my car even made it through another hectic flooded area when the water went over my bonnet because it was so deep!”
“Today I am particularly proud to live in this country where people help each other without worrying about their clothes getting wet or simply helping because that is the beautiful side of human nature,” she wrote.
“I only wish I remembered to get all their names. Hopefully they are reading this and I hope they know how much their help meant to me. I am utterly humbled,” she concluded.
Good luck that we are getting rain when they say that water level in the earth is going down ...... ....