By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Kuwait witnessed unstable weather and heavy rainfall on Sunday, which made roads take a serious battering, with loose gravel damaging the windshields and headlights of vehicles moving on the roads. In recent years, the Kuwaiti government has invested in improving its drainage systems and upgrading its road infrastructure to mitigate the impact of heavy rainfall on its roads, but it appears that the efforts are not enough during periods of heavy rain.

A number of citizens and residents expressed their outrage over Sunday’s flooding after the amount of rainfall reached 5.64 millimeters, according to the meteorological department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. “I am a victim of the roads of Kuwait. I spend most of my salary on fixing my cars due to bad roads and now my car is submerged in Salam due to heavy rains and the government’s negligence,” Huda Al-Ali said. “Who will compensate me for my car repairs? Who will compensate my family if I die as a victim of corrupt roads?”

Mohammad Al-Harran called on the government to pay attention to what’s happening in Kuwait, noting that there are broken streets, potholes and flooded roads. “The rains revealed the corruption by some companies, and we hope action is taken. These are shocking scenes, a clear crime of negligence and corruption, and fake preparations for the rainy season by some officials,” Saoud Al-Rukaibi said.

Regarding flexible working hours, Anwar Al-Hwaj said: “They applied flexible working hours, but our streets are not flexible at all. Is it possible that since last night, 12 hours ago, roads are still closed and the problem has not been resolved? We are now late for our flexible working hours.”

Sultan Al-Sarram said: “It was better to cancel work and schools after the heavy rain. Since the morning, roads have been closed for hours, and so far, we have not moved a meter on the Fifth Ring Road. Main roads are blocked due to rain. The problem is that this crisis repeats every year and our government has not found a solution. There is a continuous failure, and the first victim is the citizen!”

Staying home until the roads are clear was Muhammad Ashour’s solution. “I saw the roads are closed, so I decided to go back home. I thought to wait for half an hour or an hour, but the situation did not change. And no one said anything about the closed roads. The government should consider today (Monday) an official holiday. People are not able to attend their shifts. The current situation needs a helicopter!” Meanwhile, Nawaf said sarcastically: “Why are people upset? Is it the Ministry of Public Works’ mistake that they want to create artificial rivers and lakes around the streets of Kuwait and its areas?”