Authorities in several Gulf countries renewed weather warnings on Sunday as several days of heavy rains batter the usually arid region.

Gulf countries usually experience mild winters, with the exception of rare and brief episodes of flooding rains between November and January.

Such weather is highly disruptive in the region, where authorities often do not install heavy drainage systems due to the rarity of such precipitation.

Torrential rainfall has hit the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with official WAM news agency saying the bad weather was expected to last until Thursday.

The rain has been exacerbated by cloud seeding, which authorities use to increase usually low and rare rainfall, the national centre of meteorology told AFP.

In the UAE emirate of Sharjah, pedestrians and vehicles were caught up in brown-coloured water. Authorities have not reported any casualties.

Heavy rain has been falling in the vast desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, impacting pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca.

The Saudi civil defence warned that moderate to heavy rain was expected to continue in several regions.

Oman on Saturday had announced "stormy rains of varying intensity" in several regions of the country, and state broadcaster Oman TV showed images of wet roads and rising waters.

Authorities in Qatar urged residents to remain vigilant and forecast "stormy rains" and strong winds in several parts of the country from Sunday.

In Kuwait, "generally average intensity" rain was expected through Sunday evening, the official KUNA news agency reported meteorological authorities as saying.

School classes and exams across the country would be suspended on Monday due to the weather, it added.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

'We lost everything': Brazil floods leave thousands destitute
Itapetinga, Brasil (AFP) Dec 30, 2021
Carlos Batista da Silva holds his hand above his head, indicating on a wall the level where floodwaters reached inside his northeastern Brazil home. Although he was warned of the approaching deluge, his house was submerged before he could react as Bahia state faces a heavy cost from the flooding caused by torrential rains that burst two dams and left at least 24 people dead. "We wanted to take out the furniture but there wasn't time, we lost everything. The only thing we could save was the telev ... read more