Heavy rain lashes UAE: Freak storms, strong winds, 12ft waves

January 19, 2015

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Dubai, Jan 19: Residents across the UAE are in for another 12 hours of stormy, wet weather that is expected to continue until Tuesday morning, with winds already reaching 65kmph.

A marine warning is also in place, with the NCMS stating it has recorded waves peaking at 12 feet in the waters of the Arabian Gulf on Monday.

A ‘freak hail storm’ in Abu Dhabi brought traffic to a standstill on Monday morning, even as the rest of the country battled thunderstorms and flooding, especially in parts of Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Ajman.

A spokesperson for the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) spoke to Emirates 24|7 saying: “The highest rainfall recorded on Monday morning was 38.2mm, which was at Jabal Jais in Ras Al Khaimah.”

Temperatures at Jabal Jais also plummeted to 4.8°Celsius, with the NCMS warning of temperatures dropping by five degrees in the past 24 hours.

NCMS further added: “This unstable weather pattern will continue until Tuesday, peaking on Monday evening, and weaken by next morning.

“The intensity of rain is also causing flooding in parts of the country, along with low visibility, dropping to 1,000 metres, further hindered by rising dust in open areas.”

Talking about the hail storm in Abu Dhabi, the NCMS added: “This is what you call a freak and intense hail storm that was experienced in parts of Abu Dhabi.

“Due to its intensity, it may appear as snow, but it isn’t.”

Meanwhile, authorities have already deployed emergency crew on water-clogged streets, warning residents of flash floods in the mountains and wadis over the next 24 hours.

RAK Police and Sharjah have stated emergency teams are on the main streets to handle urgent situations and ensure smooth traffic and drainage of rainwater.

Dubai Police has also requested residents to stay put in a safe place if the severity of rain increases and visibility drops.

Organisers of the Sharjah World Music Festival has rescheduled its concerts due to the weather, stating concerts at the Heart of Sharjah will be moved to Masrah Al Qasba - Theatre (19 and 20 January).

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Rain causes traffic chaos in morning

A vehicle has caught fire on Sheikh Zayed Road this morning, northbound, with Dubai Police confirming the incident, even as Civil Defence crews arrive on the scene. According to images, a black SUV has caught fire and is in the emergency breakdown lane at the central divider.

Dubai Police tweeted the same saying: "A vehicle caught on fire on Sheikh Zayed Road from the 4th bridge towards Dubai, resulting in traffic delays."

The traffic situation on E66 has worsened, with commuters reporting of being stuck in traffic for an hour around 9.30am. An eye witness spoke to Emirates 24|7 saying: "The road is free flowing from Al Ain, up until Dubai Outlet Mall; then it’s complete gridlock from Skycourts and beyond, heading into Dubai."

Dubai Police has also warned of traffic congestion on Oman Street, heading towards Baghdad Street. There is also slow moving traffic reported heading towards Business Bay from Sharjah and the Airport Tunnel.

The RTA Sharjah has appealed to morning commuters to be careful and ensure the efficiency of their windshield wipers and brakes before setting off in the rainy weather.

The Ras Al Khaimah Police has also appealed to drivers of saloon cars to avoid entering water-clogged streets where their vehicles may get stuck.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) has warned people to stay away from flowing water, tweeting: “In cases of rain and lightning, stay away from flowing water streams and valleys.”

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai warned commuters to switch on their headlights when driving through the rainy conditions today.

Sharjah Municipality has tweeted: "All road users exercise extra caution when driving during and after rainfall for their and other's safety."

Residents of Discovery Gardens report traffic jams blocking movement out of the area.

Tweets have begun to pour in citing the rain impact and strong winds blowing across the country. The nation's weather bureau, the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) has tweeted: "Heavy thundery rain over AlRuwais and adjoning."

One radio station tweeted: "Some flooding being reported on the drive in to Dubai from Sharjah".

Overcast skies gave way to rain showers that lashed parts of the country in the morning hours, even as the 'unstable' weather pattern is forecasted to blow in some thunder and strong winds until Tuesday.

The country's weather bureau has warned the country will face stormy skies over the next 24 hours, as wind speeds pick up to 60 kilometres per hour over the waters of the Arabian Gulf, while dropping by 10kmph or so over land.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7, a spokesperson for the UAE's NCMS said: "The unstable weather pattern, which started late on Monday, will continue until midday on Tuesday, bringing with it fresh to strong winds over the sea, scattered rain is most of the country and rising dust over open areas."

The spokesperson stated the weather was caused due to the cold air in the upper atmosphere, resulting a deep low pressure system with a very strong upward motion that will create extra water vapour in the atmosphere and low clouds.

"The thunderstorms will be temporary, limited largely to the northern part of the country, specifically Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah, but the rains will be experienced even in Dubai and Abu Dhabi," the spokesperson further added.

Cooler climes

Meanwhile, residents may want to reach for their sweaters once again, as the rain and the high winds will also create a significant drop in the Mercury, with the NCMS stating the weather will see a five-degree Celsius drop in the coming days.

"The average lows could reach between six and 12 degrees Celsius in parts of the country," the spokesperson further added.

The NCMS has also warned of rough sea conditions over the next 24 hours, across the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

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News Network
November 12,2024

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says its fighters have killed at least 20 Israeli soldiers in northern parts of the besieged Gaza Strip in just two days, in retaliation for the occupying regime’s genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

In a statement on Monday evening, Hamas said that fighters of its military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, “killed at least five occupation soldiers” in northern parts of the coastal territory earlier in the day.

It added that Hamas fighters also killed 15 Israeli soldiers in the war-ravaged region on Sunday.

The resistance movement’s “qualitative operation … confirms once again the failure of the criminal Zionist entity to suppress and eradicate the Palestinian resistance, which continues to direct qualitative strikes against its terrorist soldiers,” Hamas further said on its Telegram channel.

Palestinians have increased their resistance operations in the face of intensified Israeli aggression in northern Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 over the past weeks.

“Our valiant resistance is waging a war of attrition with the criminal enemy, inflicting daily losses on its soldiers and vehicles, and all of [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bets and dreams of achieving any of his goals are failing,” the Gaza-based resistance movement added.

Hamas also vowed that Israel’s ongoing crimes and aggression against Gaza would be met with increased resistance and painful strikes, which will continue until the aggression against Palestinians ends and the regime fully withdraws from the blockaded territory.

As the war in Gaza enters its 14th month, the Health Ministry reports that Israeli attacks have killed at least 43,603 Palestinians and wounded 102,929 others.

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News Network
November 7,2024

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The Israeli regime has killed at least 40 people during new airstrikes against eastern Lebanese areas, besides targeting the country’s capital Beirut with fresh acts of aggression.

Lebanon’s health ministry announced the fatalities on Wednesday, saying 53 other people had also been wounded during the aerial attacks that targeted the country’s Bekaa Valley, including the city of Baalbek.

In early Thursday, the regime was also reported to have attacked Beirut’s southern suburbs, including a site adjacent to Rafiq Hariri International Airport.

The attacks came after the regime issued short-notice evacuation orders apparently directed at the residents of the areas, claiming that the areas contained facilities belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement.

Tel Aviv has been using similar claims on countless occasions since last October, when it markedly intensified its deadly acts of aggression against Lebanon, in order to try to justify the escalation. Hezbollah has, however, invariably refuted the claims.

Also on Wednesday, the United Nations warned in its most recent flash report on the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli atrocities targeting Lebanon that the aggression had “reached a critical point.”

The attacks have claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, which was “58 percent more than the 1,900 fatalities” that were caused by the regime’s 2006 war against Lebanon, the report said.

“Additionally, an estimated 1.3 million people have been displaced, both within Lebanon and into neighboring countries, 33 percent more than the number of people displaced in 2006,” it added.

Women comprised the majority of those who had been rendered homeless within Lebanon as a result of the Israeli attacks, the report noted.

It also regretted that the Israeli attacks had featured 78 assaults on healthcare facilities across the country that had claimed the lives of 130 health workers and injured 111 others.

In response to the aggression, Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 13,2024

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Beirut: The Israeli army on Tuesday continued to launch attacks against civilians in Lebanon, targeting them in several areas without prior evacuation warnings.

However, 13 airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the space of only three hours were preceded by evacuation warnings.

The attacks caused no injuries but resulted in widespread destruction of residential buildings and commercial, medical and educational centers.

The airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Bekaa region, reaching Akkar in Lebanon’s far north, erased any hope of a near-term ceasefire settlement.

The strikes were accompanied by an announcement on Israel’s Channel 14 that “the Israeli army has expanded its operations in southern Lebanon to areas it had not reached since the beginning of the ground operation.”

About 50 days have passed since Israel intensified its hostile operations in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah. The death toll from these confrontations and attacks has passed 3,200, with more than 14,000 wounded.

For the first time, an airstrike targeted a mountainous area between Baalchmay and Aabadiyeh on the road leading to Aley, destroying a building housing displaced people.

The mayor of Baalchmay, Adham Al-Danaf, confirmed that “the airstrike targeted a residential building in the Dhour Aabadiyeh area.”

The initial toll from the Ministry of Health showed “five people killed and two injured.”

The raids that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in the morning, unlike nightly raids before, caused huge destruction. Those who evacuated their homes after Israeli warnings, used their phones to record the collapse of empty buildings in Sfeir, Haret Hreik, Bir Al-Abed, Mrayjeh, Laylaki and Hadath.

Israeli warplanes also targeted Tyre, where a strike on a building killed three people and injured many others, while a raid on Tefahta killed a man identified as Kifah Khalil and his family.

Attacks were widespread, with Yater and Zebqine subject to artillery shelling, a civilian being killed in Hermel, and further attacks on Bouday and an area between the towns of Srifa and Arsoun.

A raid on the town of Siddiqin killed two people and injured several others, while an attack on the Mechref farm led to one fatality and multiple injuries.

The search for those missing after an Israeli raid on the town of Ain Yaacoub in Akkar, in the northernmost part of Lebanon, continued until dawn.

During the operation, 14 bodies were retrieved, identified as those of residents displaced from the town of Arabsalim in the Iqlim Al-Tuffah area of the south, along with members of a Syrian family, a mother and three of her children. Additionally, there were 10 people in critical condition.

The targeted residence belongs to a Lebanese citizen, Hussein Hashim, who is reported to be a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.

An airstrike on the town of Saksakiyeh in the Sidon region on Monday night resulted in yet another tragedy.

It appeared that the intended target was the Shoumer family, who just days before lost Hussein Amin Shoumer and his two sisters in a drone strike near Al-Awali River.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued additional evacuation warnings for towns in the southern region along the Litani River, which, according to estimates from the mayors, are currently 90 percent uninhabited.

In the meantime, Hezbollah announced its continued efforts to “combat the intrusions of Israeli forces and to strike military installations and towns in the north.”

Hezbollah said in a statement that it confronted “an Israeli Hermes 450 drone in the airspace of Nabatieh and forced it to leave Lebanese airspace.”

The party also announced that it targeted “Kfar Blum settlement with a rocket salvo.”

On the Israeli side, air raid sirens sounded in areas of Upper and Western Galilee and in the town of Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings.

The Israeli army confirmed that “a drone exploded in Nesher, east of Haifa, without activating the air raid sirens,” and that “a drone launched from Lebanon crashed into a school in Gesher HaZiv, north of Nahariya.”

Israel’s Channel 13 reported the Israeli military’s assessment regarding Hezbollah’s military strength, claiming that the group currently possesses approximately 100 precision missiles, thousands of artillery shells, and hundreds of rockets. Additionally, it was highlighted that “there are around 200 Lebanese towns that remain unvisited.”

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