The Public Works Authority – Ashghal - responded to last week’s rain and water accumulation in different areas by allocating teams to deal with the situation in line with its plans and procedures, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Operation and Maintenance Department at Ashghal received more than 130 notifications of water accumulation between March 7 and 9, the authority said.

Most of the rainwater accumulation occurred in areas falling under the Doha, Al Rayyan and Umm Slal municipalities, particularly in Abu Hamour, Ain Khaled, Bu Sidra, Al Gharafa and Al Kharaitiyat, according to the statement.

Different parts of the country witnessed water overflow caused by rains, which began on March 7 and continued until the evening of March 9 in varying amounts. “Accordingly, Ashghal responded by allocating work teams to deal with the incident in accordance with the plans and procedures and in co-ordination with the departments concerned,” the statement noted.

In preparation for the rain, Ashghal notified all members of its teams to be on emergency standby. The authority deployed its teams and machinery to different sites to ensure swift response in the event of rainfall, in addition to inspecting the country’s main tunnels to ensure the efficiency of the drainage networks. For areas that lacked infrastructure, Ashghal took the necessary measures to ensure fast suction of rainwater in case of overflow, the statement said.

“The authority continued monitoring main roads and tunnels in Qatar during the rainfall and worked quickly to send suction tankers and machinery to drain accumulated rainwater in some areas,” it added.

Ashghal sent pumps and tankers to remove water from Al Nasr, Rawdat Al Khail, Barwa City, Corniche, Al Obaidli roundabout, F-Ring Road, D-Ring Road, Regency signals, the Qatar Sports Club area, Fire Station roundabout, Al Waab and other areas.