UAE: Seven people dead after floods hit Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah

Seven people died in the UAE amid the heavy rains and flooding that hit parts of the country on Wednesday, the Ministry of Interior said in a video statement.

Six of the deceased are of Asian nationality, the Director General of MOI Federal Central Operations Brigadier General Dr Ali Salem al-Tuniji said in the video.

In an update, the ministry said on Twitter it was updating an earlier death toll, after an Asian expatriate who had been missing was found dead.

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The most affected cities include Sharjah, Fujairah, and Ras al-Khaimah where field teams are still carrying out evacuations, the spokesperson said.

He added that 80 percent of the individuals who were exposed to the floods have returned to their residences in the past two days.

A main road linking Fujairah and Khor Fakkan is undergoing work to be fully reopened, he concluded.

The UAE’s disaster management authority on Thursday said it was coordinating with more than 20 hotels to provide 827 units that can house more than 1,885 people who were displaced by flooding.

The announcement was made by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) in a media briefing following slightly more than a day of heavy rains that submerged streets and flooded residences.

Meanwhile, at least 130 volunteers are working with senior citizens in high-risk zones, transporting affected individuals from flooded neighborhoods, and managing immediate shelter requirements.

All local and national-level authorities are also monitoring the weather changes and apparently taking preventative measures to avoid adverse impacts in neighborhoods across the UAE.

The teams are also coordinating with tankers to clear water-logged streets, adding that the authorities are working in “full swing to provide maximum protection for all residents in areas affected by the weather.”

Any further developments, warnings and weather changes will be monitored round the clock by a vast country-wide radar network and satellite coverage, headed by the National Centre of Meteorology.

Read more: UAE authorities brief residents after rain, floods wreak havoc