Rainfall in the country yesterday caught everyone by surprise and put a hard halt to the otherwise faced life of Doha. The rain slowed the traffic down significantly as many pedestrians rushed to find shelter.
The roads appeared to be deserted in comparison to the otherwise busy Fridays.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has issued an advisory via its social media accounts asking motorists to drive slower, to avoid skidding and causing damage to themselves and others. The Ministry had also advised motorists to avoid over-taking and shifting road lanes unnecessarily.
The Ghuwayria in the North of the country received the highest rain of 33mm whereas Al Gharrafa received hails.
Many areas in Doha such as Abu Hamour, MatarQadeem, Najma and Umm Ghuwalina were left water-clogged due to the sudden rainfall, however, the areas remained accessible to most vehicles.
Municipalities in collaboration with Public Works Authority (Ashghal) quickly mobilised their rain emergency teams to pump out the rain water from highways, intersections and roundabouts on priority basis.
Some old houses were affected by the heavy rain causing roofs to leak. Apart from roads, the wholesale market also saw a slowdown in operations yesterday due to the heavy downpour, the market remains otherwise remains busy on weekends. The rains forced many customers of the whole sale market to shop in the hyper and supermarkets.
Furthermore, due to the heavy rains the MIA Part bazaar that is organised every weekend has been cancelled for his week, however, farmers markers are expected to remain open.
