UAE | Environment
High tides flood Kalba for the third day
High tides have pushed seawater over costal defences, flooding parts of Kalba for the third day, although damage was limited to areas already evacuated.
- By Fuad Ali, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:38 May 3, 2009
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Fujairah: High tides have pushed seawater over costal defences, flooding parts of Kalba for the third day, although damage was limited to areas already evacuated.
Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Interior Minister, inspected the temporary shelters and thanked all involved in the emergency relief project.
The damage caused the closure of the main route linking Kalba to Fujairah, meaning a long trip for motorists through narrow unpaved backroads.
Evacuated residents, some of whom spent Wednesday temporarily sheltered in local schools, were all relocated yesterday afternoon to the Institute of Applied Technology in Fujairah.
Relocation
Most will be relocated again to hotel rooms and apartments in Sharjah, after all hotel rooms in Fujairah and Khor Fakkan were filled by earlier evacuees.
A large number of volunteers are working hard to meet the basic demands of the families, especially children and the elderly.
A calm start early in the day, in Kalba, was followed by a light drizzle at just after 1pm.
At the same time, rising tides one again spilt huge quantities of water on the Kalba Corniche Park, Suhaila and Khor Kalba.
Nerve centre for evacuee assistance
Over 2,000 people, evacuated from flooded areas in Kalba, have been moved to hotel rooms and apartments in Fujairah with some still awaiting transfer to similar facilities in Sharjah.
The Institute of Applied Technology in Fujairah has become the nerve centre for all evacuee assistance as an army of volunteers work around the clock to provide the families with due care and attention.
Marwa Sandar is one of 25 individuals, forming the 4 families at one of IAT's classroom come temporary shelter, and she said she only managed two hours sleep last night at the centre and hopes for better accommodation.
Marwa said: “There are people here with diabetes and one woman recently had surgery in her back so sleeping on mattresses on the floor is not an ideal situation for everyone''.
Earlier at the Qudwa School in Kalba, families were also complaining of conditions.
Ohood Abdul Aziz, said her family were only left with the clothes on their back and were not able to retrieve any of their belongings.
Dr John Mortimer, Principal of the Institute of Applied Technology in Fujairah, is part of the leading team organising the relief effort for evacuees. He says he is satisfied with the overall crises management by the different agencies involved, despite some difficulties faced regarding food supply.
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