Mohammed Asim and his family weren’t able to sleep on Friday night thinking about the rain forecast. They thought, will there be a repeat of the violent weather that forced them to leave home just weeks ago?
“Anxiety was rising. We were just looking at our windows to check if it had started raining,” said Asim, a hardware businessman who lives in Sharjah’s Kalba, one of the worst-hit areas during the last spell of rain.
“Last time it rained, we had to leave our homes and relocate to safer places at 2am. We were woken up by authorities and social worker groups in the middle of the night.”
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In February, heavy rains wreaked havoc in the eastern coast of the UAE, submerging homes in floods. They returned to scenes of destruction days later — drenched sofas, dishevelled cabinets, lost passports. Some businesses had to deal with losses worth more than Dh300,000.
Worried about the severe weather forecast, Kamil Shareef sent his family to his brother’s house in Sharjah.
“When it rained last time, the water level in our neighbourhood was about 3ft high,” said the business owner who lives in Kalba’s Al Mahatta area. He wanted to take extra precaution this time.
“We have safeguarded our homeware and moved to Sharjah for two days,” said Shareef.
“I was stressed out last night and couldn’t sleep well. I called my neighbour a few times, asking if it was raining. Thank god, everything is fine for now,” added Shareef.
Residents of other flood-prone areas in Khor Fakkan and Fujairah were also anxious.
“When it rained heavily two years ago, we were all running for our lives. We were worried about another bout of flooding as the rain forecast was continuously on the news,” said Sabir Khan, a businessman.
“We have placed our goods a little higher to prevent any impact on our business in case of flooding. But it did not rain as we were expecting. The rain started only in the morning,” added Khan.
The weather situation from Friday night until Saturday, however, wasn’t as bad as residents expected. Besides, all entities were fully prepared for any scenario.
Along with UAE authorities, social organisations were ready to assist people in case of emergencies.Volunteers, resources and support systems were on standby.
“We made essential preparations in case of unfavorable circumstances. Our volunteers were ready to assist residents in need, and we were waiting for instructions from the authorities,” said Pramod Pattanoor, central committee secretary of Kairali Cultural Association Fujairah Kalba Unit.