Sharjah: According to the pre-prepared plans developed by the High Committee for Rain Emergencies and its affiliated committees, the Sharjah Municipality (SM) has increased its readiness to deal with the country's current weather conditions, which include heavy rainfall and strong winds.
More personnel and both heavy and light equipment have stepped up the city's response to emergencies. It began addressing the weather conditions at midnight and is still working across Sharjah City to control them, reduce their impact, and avoid harm and destruction.

The Director General of Sharjah Municipality, Obaid Saeed Al Tunaiji, stressed that the city is using substantial resources to improve traffic flow and protect lives and properties in the face of the weather depression. Committee chairs, field teams, engineers, supervisors, technicians, and support personnel make up the 600-person workforce that they have assigned.

The municipality also supplied powerful pumps for water extraction and discharge, along with 450 tankers and 220 mobile pumps. Prior to the arrival of the weather conditions, the municipality also cleaned and maintained the drainage apertures. Additionally, the municipality has set up 70 reservoirs to directly collect rainwater from pumping stations.

The Sharjah Police General Headquarters, Sharjah Civil Defence, Roads and Transport Authority, Public Works Department, and other relevant entities are all working together towards a common objective, according to Al Tunaiji. The municipality is also in close contact with these other agencies, as the combined efforts of these organisations will hopefully reduce the severity of the weather's effects.

Towing damaged vehicles out of wet areas is another service that inspection teams and patrols from the Operations Department of the Inspection and Control Directorate are providing to the public, he said. For this purpose, we have twenty vehicles available. They will help improve traffic flow, protect residences, and remove rainfall accumulations. They will also help to transport tankers to work sites.

Hotline 993 is open around the clock to take public observations and reports, according to the head of the High Committee for Rain Emergencies. The centre has also bolstered its readiness to deal with a high volume of reports and communications, rerouting them to field teams as needed.