Spate of road accidents after rainfall

ABU DHABI // The emirate was soaked by rain early today for the first time this autumn, leading to crashes on Abu Dhabi roads. One person was seriously injured and nine people were hurt in 25 accidents today, police said. Most occurred on the Abu Dhabi-to-Dubai highway. Two of those hurt were pedestrians crossing Salam Street. Police blamed the accidents on motorists not adjusting their speed to the wet roads and driving with brakes in poor condition. Lt Col Mohammed al Mazroui, head of the external roads department, urged drivers to lower their speed on motorways, especially during bad weather, and to leave enough distance between cars to allow them to stop safely. Rain fell in Fujairah on Saturday night and reached Abu Dhabi by early morning. Al Ain, parts of Dubai and Ras al Khaimah also saw rain, said Mohammed al Abri from the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology. The bad weather spoiled Saturday evening for visitors to Dubai's Global Village, which park officials closed for safety reasons. "Due to inclement weather conditions, the management of Global Village in conjunction with Dubai Police took a timely decision to suspend operations for a day as part of our commitment to ensure the utmost safety of our visitors that includes families and young children," said Abdul Redha Ali Bin Redha, the project director of Global Village. The park re-opened to the public yesterday. Mr Abri said there was a chance of light rain on Monday, with temperatures falling about 4C. November to March is generally the rainy season in the emirates. Sandstorms are also likely and it is the time when the thickest fog forms. mchung@thenational.ae