The Ruler of Sharjah has ordered that Dh50,000 ($13,600) be given to every family forced to leave their homes during flooding caused by the heaviest rainfall to hit the country in 30 years.
Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi on Monday instructed the authorities in the emirate to give the financial aid to help families with their return home after the downpour, which caused widespread damage in the Northern Emirates.
“Ruler of Sharjah ordered to allocate Dh50,000 to each family affected by the recent weather conditions who were staying in evacuation centres and hotels in Sharjah to aid them for quick and safe return to their homes,” Sharjah Media Office said on Twitter.
Afaf Al Marri, director of the social services department in the emirate, told Sharjah TV that Sheikh Dr Sultan said the compensation should be paid to families to help them cover the costs of refurbishing their homes.
“The gesture will help for a quick and safe return to their homes as they couldn’t return to their homes for more than 10 days,” Ms Al Marri said.
“It will help them to cover maintenance costs and furniture.”
Temporary shelters
Seven people died and at least 870 were rescued after torrential rain overnight on July 27 led to flash floods in parts of Sharjah, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.
In total, 3,897 people were placed in temporary shelters in Sharjah and Fujairah.
In an update on Monday, Sharjah Media Office said more than 3,400 rescue and evacuation operations were conducted in the eastern regions of the emirate by Sharjah Police.
Sharjah Police General Headquarters handled 10,782 emergency calls, which were responded to by 503 crew members in 101 emergency vehicles and 45 patrols.
Brig Gen Abdullah Mubarak bin Amir, deputy commander-in-chief of Sharjah Police, said the force assigned a team to assess the shelters and make sure there were enough supplies.
“Transportation and accommodation were provided to more than 2,100 affected people in schools and hotels in the area,” Brig bin Amir said.
“Sharjah Police assigned a special team to inspect the various emergency shelters, follow up on developments and ensure food supplies are provided to those in need.”
In Kalba, 2,069 people were moved into schools and nurses were transferred from Fujairah to support medical efforts at Kalba Hospital.
Etisalat engineers were also flown in by the Sharjah Air Wing Department to restore communications in the area, and a team from the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority worked to restore utilities.
Rain and flooding in the Northern Emirates - in pictures
