Kuwait confronts rain fallout, shuts schools

Manama: Kuwait’s public and private schools on Sunday remained shut as the country grapples with the fallout of last week’s rain.

The ministry said the closure of the schools was due to the emergency situation and the need to ensure the safety and security of thousands of students.

Teachers were also given the day off, but school principals and their deputies were told to report to work to ensure liaisons and help with efforts for recovery and the regaining a sense of normalcy.

Schools should re-open on Monday, the ministry said.

University students were also told to stay home on Sunday to avoid unsafe situations.

Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al Ganem said cooperation with state agencies should be given top priority in order to overcome the aftershock of heavy rains.

It is now important to work hard now to save lives, and those affected by the rain will be later compensated for their losses, the Speaker said as he checked the situation at a severely impacted bridge.

He praised the “great efforts exerted by all state agencies and their response to the heavy rains to ease out its negative impact”.

The road and transport general commission, whose head was fired on Tuesday, said the quantity of rains that fell in Kuwait on Friday was the highest in the last 50 years.

On Saturday, the only victim of the flood was buried in a funeral attended by Al Ganem.