Ras Al Khaimah village residents upset after rain floods cemetery
▶ They are calling on authorities to put in place measures to avoid similar incidents
Residents of a mountainside village in Ras Al Khaimah are calling for an urgent clean-up after heavy rain caused a cemetery to flood.
Storms that began last week and ended on Monday caused widespread flooding in the Northern Emirates.
Among the areas affected is Al Ghalilah village in the mountain region, 30 kilometres north of RAK city.
Between April 9 and Sunday, almost 70 millimetres of rain fell over the emirate – more than two thirds of the country’s average annual rainfall.
The water gushed down the sides of the mountains and pooled in Al Ghalilah, destroying roads and farms and flooding the village graveyard.
Municipal workers began pumping the water out of the cemetery and farms this week but some residents said the devastation could have been avoided if barriers had been built to divert water.
“We all should work on preventing this from happening again,” said Mohammed Al Shahhi, 39, an Emirati resident of Al Ghalilah village.
“We have all buried loved ones in this graveyard and we should take care of them and the place that they are buried in.
“The water comes down from the mountains straight to our village. Many roads get closed due to the floods, especially the ones near the cemetery and the ones that pass through the valley.
“This is the first time in years we have seen such a huge amount of water accumulated in the graveyard, three to four metres deep.”
Mr Al Shahhi’s farm was also damaged by the storm. “Water is life and a blessing,” he said. “We always pray for more rain to water our crops but when the area is not prepared to handle heavy rain, it becomes destructive.”
Yesterday, the head of RAK’s public services department said it was working hard to pump water, fix roads and provide accommodation to those affected.
“More than 1,793 reports of water inundation have been attended to over the past few days with about 68 million litres of water having been withdrawn from various areas,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saud Al Qasimi said. “Public safety is our top priority.”
Emirati Essa Lahha, 32, said: “Seeing the water accumulating in the cemetery is unpleasant. We all became restless and started contacting the authorities to solve the issue quickly.”
Mr Lahha said residents had made suggestions to authorities, such as placing barriers or dams near the mountains to redirect water, to avoid such incidents in future.
“A committee from the Ministry of Infrastructure Development visited the village on Tuesday to evaluate the situation and find solutions,” he said.
“We also suggested to raise the levels of the streets that connect the village with the main road to prevent road closures during floods.”
On Saturday, about 570 people were trapped in remote valleys and mountains as heavy rain blocked roads.