Cloudburst sinks farm in Ras Al Khaimah
08:16AM Tue 18 Mar, 2014
Ras Al Khaimah: Four days after a major weather system dumped massive sheets of rain across the UAE, a remote farm nestled between mountains in Ras Al Khaimah in Wadi Al Koub remains submerged under two metres of floodwater.
Only the tip of the farm shed’s roof was visible above water after skies cleared on Monday.
Obaid Hareb Rabia’a, an Emirati and farm owner, told Gulf News that the heavy rains deluged his farm destroying almost everything in their path. Around 140 date palm trees as well as 20 Al Ghaf and Sader trees were swept away under the torrent of water that washed over the property on the weekend.
The rains also flooded and cracked farm workers’ accomodations destroying furniture, electrical devices and appliances and personal belongings.
Rabia’a said that he owned the farm since 1991 and no words can express his grief.
Various barriers erected by the Ministry of Environment and Water as well as himself couldn’t hold back the rush of so much water coming down the mountain on the weekend, he said.
“The land for me means everything in my life, now, my life ends,” Rabia’a said in crying voice. “I can’t estimate the losses and damages caused to the farm until now because the farm is still covered with water. I am waiting for the water to dry to estimate the size of the damages,” Rabia’a said on dry ground near his farm on Monday in an interview.
He said that the municipal council visited him in the last couple of days and offered Dh350,000 as compensation but he declined to take money. Instead, Rabia’a said he is will appeal to the Ras Al Khaimah authorities to compensate him with a new plot of land located in a different area that is not so likely to be flooded.
Amin Wali, the caretaker of the Obaid Hareb Rabia’a farm, said he was asleep when the rain started pouring around 10pm on Friday.
“The roar of the rain pounding on the shed’s roof and people’s shouting woke me up,” Wali said. “People had gathered on the side of the road on the nearby hill and were shouting, asking me to get out of there. Everything was under water 10 minutes later.”
The deluge destroyed farming equipment and some household electronics in the shed, he said.
Three days later, the “water line had dropped to about mid shank-deep,” said Wali.
Engineer Ahmad Al Hamadi, Director of the Department of Public Works and Services at Ras Al Khaimah, told Gulf News they were alerted that some areas and roads had sunk in the rain water and had decimated some properties.
The department received about 50 complaints about rain affected houses and roads so far.
“We deployed around 25 water tankers to drain rain water from the roads and 20 water pumps are draining accumulated water on the main roads of the emirate, he added. “Tankers and vehicles were dispatched to the area and a temporary diversion was made.”
These are many other tankers from other private companies also draining accumulated water,” he pointed out. “All the teams and equipment are geared up to deal with the heavy rains and flooded houses, roads and valleys.”
Flooded houses were reported in the Khouzam, Al Nakheel, and Wadi Koup as residents were forced to leave their homes, he said.
Rain also caused power disruption in some areas of the emirate.
“Tankers were sent out to drain the water, and everything is now under control.” he said
As a result the latest drubbing from the storm, Ras Al Khaimah Public Works Department is embarking on an infrastructure study to examine vulnerable low-lying areas that are prone to damage from heavy rain events in the emirate.
Authorities at different government levels are assessing damages to help put rain-soaked victims back on their feet with compensation.
Police warning
Police deployed several traffic patrols on all the internal roads and highways of the emirate to block all routes leading to the valleys mostly hit by the rains, such as Shaam, Ghalila and Al Beih.
Meanwhile, Colonel Ahmad Al Bagham, Director of the Ras Al Khaimah Central Operations Room, said they received 2,093 reports over the weekend , including 247 traffic complaints, and many others related to rains. As many as 1,114 of the reports were false alarms.
Police urged community members to be more cautious when calling the police so as not to waste police efforts, particularly these days when other people are in a dire need of help.
Motorists are also advised to strictly comply with traffic rules for all road users’ safety, keep all the car windows, lights, and wipers clean, and abide by lane discipline, he said.
“The traffic accidents usually registered in hazy and nippy weather are very serious due to low visibility and reckless driving,” he said.
Gulf News
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