Dubai
A day after the rainstorm, residents of many New Dubai communities on Thursday were trying to salvage what they could after floods damaged their homes and belongings.
German expat Alexander, who lives in Jebel Ali Village, was cleaning up his flooded one-storey villa, whose wall was knocked down by floodwaters.
“The water level had risen rapidly, it was only in the house for 20-30 minutes and did some damage,” he said while showing his muddied belongings.
UK expat Nigel, who also lives in Jebel Ali Village, said his wife described a “mini tsunami” hitting their villa. He added that “the community is really pulling together and everyone is getting their hands dirty helping those worst affected … [Developer] Nakheel has a lot to do in terms of rebuilding walls and pumping water, but there’s so much else to do. We’d welcome any help from people or local businesses this weekend to help families and make homes liveable again.”
A Nakheel spokesperson said Nakheel has “drafted in extra manpower, with 24 hour operations in place to clear the unprecedented water levels that affected roads in some of our communities. At Discovery Gardens, we currently have around 20 tankers and pumps on site to clear the water … At Jebel Ali Village, our priority is to clean up the water and debris caused by the storms. This work is ongoing, with additional manpower on site. We will then assess any structural damage to individual properties and repair accordingly.”
In The Green Community, at Dubai Investments Park, South African expat Basil Robertson said his ground-floor residence was flooded “up to my calf level”, damaging furniture worth thousands of dirhams. He added that a facilities management company helped residents clean up their homes.
“We wish there was a proper drainage system in place, so nothing like this happens again. That is the fear now.”
