Winter in the Middle East

It is winter in the Middle East and though those in the rest of the northern hemisphere won’t shed any tears when they hear the temperatures, there are weather issues that create problems. Winter is the “rainy season” in the desert and this year record rainfall occurred in UAE. Because it seldom rains, the drainage and roof leakage problems are quite serious for the short time it happens. Because of the dry weather and the geology, it doesn’t take much water to cause flooding.


This year, schools were closed for 2 days because of the flooding. Because it only happens once a year, the drains are usually blocked and there is not a lot of motivation to fix the problem.

http://www.dropshots.com/tcontek#date/2008-01-15/04:17:06

and there are more than the normal number of accidents.

http://www.dropshots.com/tcontek#date/2008-01-15/05:08:51

Even if they made a real attempt to make a repair, another year has to pass before the results are known. In business areas like flooded loading docks, the water is pumped out where is seeps through the ground and floods again in a few days. The pumping and flooding cycle are repeated a few times until evaporation finally takes care of the excess water. When the water recedes, it is much like post flood anywhere else.

Another thing you notice is that any floor of a building that has a roof with sky usually leaks. The “beautiful” shopping malls are full of buckets during the rains. Parts of my apartment complex that have roofs were full of buckets and now after the rain, the ceilings have been torn out for repair of the water damage. A penthouse apartment or villa is not the place to live during the rainy season. Now the rains are mostly over and for the last few days we have had a sand storm. Dry is the normal state so it is nice to see a return to normalcy.