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Traffic comes to a standstill as flood hits Emirates Road

Flooding on Emirates Road, near Silicon Oasis, heading towards Sharjah has blocked traffic for over five hours on Monday morning.

  • By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 11:03 August 25, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Tankers are used to pump water out of Emirates Road on Monday morning.
  • Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
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Dubai: Severe flooding on Emirates Road near Silicon Oasis heading towards Sharjah had traffic crawling for more than five hours on Monday morning.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in collaboration with Dubai Police immediately closed the Al Ghusais-bound lanes of the road and diverted traffic to Al Ain Road, University City Road and Dubai Bypass Road.

Motorists said that they were caught unaware by the flooding and were stuck on Emirates Road for up to five hours.

Congestion was heavy and there were incidents of road rage.

"Driving towards Sharjah on Emirates Road in the morning is always a breeze, but today it was horrible. As long as the authorities are prepared to handle such accidents it makes everyone's life easy. The police were trying their best to divert the traffic to alternative routes but the traffic just kept piling up. I got stuck for more than three hours," said R. Sai, a car salesman.

Jeevan Lakhani, a businessman, said he opted to take Emirates Road despite being informed of the flooding.

He said: "I did not think that it would be severe, but I was glad that authorities were on the spot to direct the traffic to alternative routes."

Sixteen tankers from the Drainage and Irrigation Department went into action for approximately six hours to pump the water out.

Abdul Majid Al Sifae'e, director of the Drainage and Irrigation Department, ruled out the possibility of the flooding being sewage or irrigation water.

"I learnt about the flooding at about 8.30am. I was sure that our pipes were not the cause of it, as our emergency teams keep a 24-hour watch on our pipelines in operation.

"I was informed by our emergency team that 'it was a big reservoir that had burst open'. Emergency teams along with equipment were sent to the spot. It took 16 tankers and more than six hours to clear the water," he said.

RTA officials said that they have yet to pinpoint responsibility for the situation.

"Investigations are on to establish the responsible party, so that necessary action can be taken to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in future," said Hussain Al Banna, Director of Traffic, RTA Traffic and Roads Agency and Head of RTA's Emergency Team.

He said that the flooding was so severe that it gave an impression of an artificial lake on Emirates Road near Silicon Oasis.

Al Banna said: "Contractors and other companies are invited to exercise caution, and comply with work discipline in carrying out projects to avoid similar accidents."

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