Scattered showers of hail and rain in some areas of UAE; strong winds cause damage in Ras Al Khaimah

Hessa Saif / Emadeddin Khalil, Staff Reporters

Heavy rains and hails continued to fall on separate areas across the country as a result of the fluctuating weather conditions that would end on Saturday.

Light to moderate rains fell on Khatm Al Shakla, Malaqet and Al Sa’a in Al Ain City of Abu Dhabi and on Sabkhat Matti in Al Dhafra Region, while heavy rains and hail fell on Masafi and Asfeni in Ras Al Khaimah and other areas across the UAE.

The lowest temperature of 25.8˚C was recorded in Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah while the highest temperature of 48.6˚C was recorded in Jebel Al Dhannah in Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi.

According to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), Saturday’s weather is expected to be clear to partly cloudy in general with low clouds appearing over the eastern coast in the morning and a chance for some rainy cumulus clouds to form in the afternoon.

WINDS CAUSE DAMAGE IN RAS AL KHAIMAH

Meanwhile, the downward winds caused a lot of material damage in the Shokeh area, south of Ras Al Khaimah, as the winds shattered a number of porches, causing damage to the vehicles under them.

They also ripped off the main gates of houses. Shokeh inhabitants demanded that a government entity be allocated to receive those affected by the fluctuations of the unusual weather conditions in order to be compensated for the material losses that they suffered as a result of the winds, rains and flooded valleys.

“The winds that blew in Shokeh and Kadra areas the day before yesterday were so strong that they ripped off the doors of a number of houses in the area including mine and my son’s. The door of my house flew and settled in my sister’s house next to mine,” said Rashid Bin Thaleth from Shokeh.

“The winds also destroyed the solar panels on my farm, plucked out the caravan consisting of a room and a hall from place and ripped off the porches. Although it blew for 15 to 30 minutes, the wind had a very strong impact and the personal losses it left behind on my farm and house were estimated at more than Dhs40,000,” he added.

“Thank God, however, no one was injured as a result of such strong winds seen for the first time in our agricultural mountainous area, which is famous for its regular rains. We hope that a government entity will be designated to compensate the people for the damage caused by weather fluctuations and share the cost of maintenance with us,” he said.

Abu Ahmed from Shokeh said: “The strong winds were as a tornado and caused substantial material damage, especially in Shokeh and Kadra. In my house, the Dhs20,000 porch collapsed and an iron piece of it fell on my new vehicle model 2023 worth Dhs350,000.”

Maryam Salem, a housemaid from Shokeh, said the porch of her house collapsed as a result of the strong downward winds and part of it fell on her vehicle, smashing its glass but thank God nobody was injured.

Saeed Musbeh Al Qaydi from Shokeh said Al Rawayeh summer rains caused valleys to be flooded but no one was injured as a result of the accompanying strong winds.

The flooded valleys in Shokeh included Wadi Shokeh, Wadi Al Bashish, Wadi Al Mu’aimed, Wadi Al Layyat, Wadi Al Huwaidi, Wadi Abul Qird, Wadi Al Na’am, while those in Kadra included Wadi Al Qal and Wadi Al Ashwani.