More than 300 traffic accidents have been recorded in Dubai since Saturday after heavy rain caused widespread flooding and reduced visibility on the emirate’s roads, police revealed on Sunday.
Of the 303 accidents, eight were described as serious. Police said they received 7,471 emergency calls from residents dealing with weather-related incidents while the non-emergency number was dialled 1,358 times in the 24-hour period.
Brig Saif Al Mazrouei, director general of Dubai police’s traffic department, urged motorists to drive extra-cautiously, slow down, avoid changing lanes and keep a safe distance between vehicles.
He said drivers should avoid using the hazard lights and only use fog lights when visibility is poor.
“Given the low visibility caused by heavy rain and blowing wind, motorists should adhere to traffic safety guidelines and check weather warnings before driving. It is also advisable they do not go out except in cases of necessity to avoid accidents,” he said.
On Saturday, police said 1,880 accidents had been recorded in Dubai since Thursday, of which 55 were serious. Among these was an accident involving an Asian woman.
She was knocked over in Jumeirah Lakes Towers and a motorcyclist in Jumeirah Village Circle was hit by a car.
Both were seriously hurt and taken to hospital.
Almost 51,000 emergency calls have been made to Dubai Police in the past three days.
In Sharjah, hundreds of municipality staff worked around-the-clock to clear the emirate’s roads. Mobile pumps were sent to drain waterlogged areas across the emirate.
Thabet Al Tarifi, director general of Sharjah Municipality and chairman of the Higher Committee for Rain Emergency, said more than 15,000 tankloads of rain water had been drained from the emirate since Thursday.
"Our teams also helped owners of damaged vehicles in various streets around the emirate, removed many trees that have fallen because of weather conditions and have also been posting awareness messages through the municipality's various official communication channels," he said.
