Rain emergency teams at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) drained out some 17.8mn gallons of rainwater in different parts of the country from Tuesday morning until yesterday noon.
The water removal operations were carried out in 3,979 batches and involved 308 tankers, 45 water pumps and 548 employees and workers, the MME said in a press statement.
Work was continuing round-the-clock to clear roads of rainwater to ensure smooth traffic movement, the ministry stressed. Waterlogging has been reported from some roads in Doha and elsewhere during the ongoing rainy spell in the country.
The MME has also issued a list of emergency numbers of all municipalities in Qatar which can be contacted for rainwater removal and related services. The full list is available on the MME’s Twitter page.
Scattered rain was detected at various places in the country yesterday, including Doha, and the weather office tweeted around afternoon that the amount of rainfall was “expected to increase in the evening and night, becoming thundery at times in some areas”.
On Tuesday, the Qatar Met department had said in a report that the country was likely to continue experiencing rain and thunder until this weekend, with the unstable conditions intensifying from today evening until tomorrow. This is to be followed by a spell, from Saturday until Monday, during which the temperature is likely to drop across the country, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the weather office said thundery rain was expected in parts of the country today along with strong winds. Offshore areas, too, are likely to experience thundershowers, high seas and windy conditions today.
The wind speed will be 5-15 knots inshore, going up to 25 knots in some areas during thundery rain. Offshore, it will be 12-22 knots and may reach a high of 27 knots during thundershowers, with the sea level rising to 10ft.
Hazy and cloudy conditions have also been forecast in both inshore and offshore areas today.
The minimum temperature is expected to be 17C in Dukhan today, while in Doha it will be 19C. The maximum will range from 20C to 22C in the country.
Yesterday, a minimum temperature of 16C was recorded in Dukhan, Shehaimiya and other places. In and around the capital, the minimum was 18C in the Hamad International Airport and Qatar University areas and 19C in the Doha airport area.