Sharjah: After record rainfall in the UAE on Tuesday, Sharjah City Municipality on Wednesday said that 600 personnel and 670 water tanker trucks and pumps have been deployed to drain rainwater.
Obaid Saeed Al Tunaiji, the municipality’s director-general, said the team includes committee heads, field teams, engineers, supervisors, technicians, and support staff. The civic body has also rolled out 450 water tanker trucks, 220 mobile pumps, and dam pumps for water extraction. Furthermore, maintenance of drainage outlets had been undertaken ahead of the rain.
In addition, the municipality said it has taken proactive steps to tackle rainwater collection by constructing 70 basins equipped with pumping stations, to prevent flooding and establish an alternative water source for future use.
Unified effort
Al Tunaiji said the municipality is working in coordination with other bodies to unify efforts, such as Sharjah Police, Sharjah Civil Defence, Roads and Transport Authority, Public Works Department and other government entities.
He added that the inspection and patrol teams of the Operations Section of the Control and Inspection Department assisted the public on the roads by towing stalled vehicles damaged by the water, by deploying 20 vehicles for towing.
Al Tunaiji said the municipality also provided 65 patrols to help families stranded on the road and transporting them to their destinations.
Emergency call centre
The head of the Supreme Rain Emergency Committee said the call center number 993 works round the clock to receive public comments and reports.
The center has increased its readiness to deal with the rise of reports and is transferring them to field teams.
