KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works said on Tuesday that the country has suffered from heavy rain within a short span of time as the rainfall exceeded the capacity of the rainwater drainage system. The ministry's teams are working around-the-clock to clear water-logged roads and bring the traffic flow to normal.

Acting assistant undersecretary of the Planning and Development department and spokesperson of the ministry, Ahmad Al-Saleh said: "The emergency teams of the maintenance engineering sector at the ministry and the Public Authority for Roads and Land Transport were able to bring the situation under control without closing any of the internal or main roads except for some lanes on the right side of roads. They managed to clear water-logging on roads so that traffic could move on without any hassle," he said.

Al-Saleh referred to the vigorous follow-up actions taken by the Minister of Public Works and the Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, Dr Amani Bougammaz, the Undersecretary of the Ministry, Mai Al-Massad, and all leaders in the concerned sectors of the ministry, to prevent any damage that may result from the rainy situation, in cooperation and coordination with all concerned authorities.

Completely flooded desert area in Sulaibiya.

Meanwhile, rainwater indicators have recorded 51.3mm in Sabiya, 48.8mm in Khairan, 34.4 in Kuwait City, 30.6mm in Wafra, 29.5 at Kuwait airport and 17.4mm in Jahra.

Climate expert, Fahad Al-Otaibi said: "The percentage of precipitation during the rainy season, which began on Monday evening, varied from one region to another. Sabiya region recorded the highest amount of rainfall with 51.3 mm, while the Jahra region recorded the least amount of rainfall with 17.4 mm," he said.

In other rain related news, the Public Works ministry has dealt with a road collapse that took place in a separating road between Abdullah Port and Shuaiba. The site of the incident has been cordoned off and officials are currently dealing with the problem.

Vehicles wading through rain-soaked road on Tuesday.

The Kuwait Meteorological Department expects a gradual improvement in the weather situation after Tuesday afternoon as chances of more rain receded with clouds beginning to wither. Weather forecast supervisor, Abdulaziz Al-Qarawi told KUNA: "The country will be affected by atmospheric pressure elevation accompanied by cold air mass as the weather will be cold during the day and cold to very cold at night, especially in open areas with the possibilities of fog to form.

"The country was affected since Monday afternoon by rainy weather condition that started with light rains but gradually developed into heavy rainfall as a result of the extension of a surface depression accompanied by a moist air mass that coincided with the presence of a deep depression in the upper layers of the atmosphere. This led to the multiplication of low and medium clouds, interspersed with some cumulus clouds, accompanied by moderate to heavy thunderstorms in some areas, especially the southern ones, during the night and dawn of the day, and wind activity with a decrease in horizontal visibility in some areas, and sea waves rising to more than 7 feet," he added. - KUNA and Agencies