Dubai greenlights initiatives to mitigate impact of severe weather

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai has authorised a series of initiatives and measures to swiftly mitigate the impact of the severe weather in the aftermath of heavy rain that swamped the UAE last Tuesday.

Sheikh Hamdan directed the establishment of a committee to review all requests from Emirati citizens affected by the heavy rains.

The committee will determine the most appropriate measures to address these requests, prioritising the repair and rehabilitation of the homes of affected citizens.

The Crown Prince directed the Dubai Land Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency to coordinate with property developers to expedite the restoration of normalcy.

Residential management companies and real estate developers in the emirate will offer the following services at no additional charges – alternative housing for residents affected by the weather, distribution of food within affected communities, pest control services; enhanced security to ensure the safety of residents and assistance residents returning to their properties.

Sheikh Hamdan also directed the formation of a committee to support affected people.

The committee is tasked with receiving and promptly addressing requests from citizens affected by the recent rains, ensuring that their concerns and needs are handled efficiently and effectively.

Committee members include the Community Development Authority, Dubai Municipality, the Roads and Transport Authority, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).

DET will collaborate with the private sector and hotels in the city to provide temporary accommodation for citizens affected by the extreme weather until their homes are repaired. Sheikh Hamdan stressed the importance of offering immediate accommodation for all affected citizens during the repair period.

Dubai’s Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department will monitor and provide humanitarian support to people in need.

The Community Development Authority was instructed to activate the ‘Jood’ platform to receive contributions from the private sector to provide humanitarian assistance to residents affected by severe weather in the city.

Severe weather in Dubai

The UAE saw record rainfall with 254 mm (10 inches) falling in less than 24 hours in Al Ain, a city on the border with Oman, according to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM). That was the most since records began in 1949 before the UAE was formed in 1971.

While efforts to recover are underway, another round of showers are forecasted next week. The NCM issued a weather advisory on Thursday, indicating a possibility of light to moderate rainfall that could be heavy in some areas in the country.

Meanwhile, departure flights at Dubai’s main international airport are witnessing a steady improvement after bad weather disrupted travel in one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said the airports operator seeks to restore normal operations as quickly as possible while assisting passengers whose flights have been delayed in the aftermath of the bad weather.

Emirates and its sister airline flydubai said on Saturday that they have restored normal flight schedules from Dubai International Airport.

Emirates cancelled nearly 400 flights and delayed many more as a result of a record storm that hit the city last week, its president Sir Tim Clark said in an open letter on Saturday.

Clark said the carrier had provided 12,000 hotel rooms and 250,000 meal vouchers to customers who were affected.

flydubai also returned to its full flight schedule from DXB’s Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 on Saturday following the weather-related disruption.

Read: UAE weather: More rain expected across Emirates next week