DUBAI // Forty water tankers are on standby at Dubai Municipality this week, ready to respond in case an increase in rainfall causes flooding.
Tariq Ahmad Al Shamsi, head of the drainage network section at DM, said they had informed the department's employees to be ready to switch to round-the-clock shifts if weather conditions get any worse.
"We have been in contact with the MET office and, in anticipation of the rain, we lowered the water levels on all the pump station in the storm water network," said Mr Al Shamsi. "But because this rainfall has been slow and intermittent, there really has been very little rise in the water levels in the network, everything has been running smoothly."
Mr Al Shamsi also said they had not received any calls about large water puddles.
"Almost every time we have rain, our department gets called to send out our tankers to clear large accumulations of water. This time we have not received any calls." Most of the city is now connected to the storm drain network which prevents water from accumulating, he said.
The department will remain on high alert until the end of the week. "We are ready to deploy our tankers should the need arise, and if that is not enough we also have some private companies on standby to assist us."
malkhan@thenational.ae
