Roads reopened in Eastern Province after heavy rain

DAMMAM: The level of rainwater pools has decreased in all neighborhoods and roads, and that traffic is flowing smoothly, said the Eastern Province secretariat on Saturday.
It said that all roads have been opened after being closed for six hours as a precautionary measure. Heavy rains necessitated cleaning of the roads and draining of rainwater, it added.
Spokesman Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al-Safyan said the secretariat has deployed more than 300 machines and at least 750 workers and teams to clean, maintain and observe neighborhoods and main streets, especially those not equipped with rainwater drainage networks.
“All the 43 rainwater drainage stations worked at full draining capacity, amounting to 420,000 cubic meters per hour,” he said.
“The Eastern Province secretariat has completed implementation of more than 90 percent of networks on both sides of the highways.”
He said Al-Dhahran municipality has suctioned water from several sites, including two in Al-Qosour and Al-Salmaniya districts. It also suctioned water from Prince Faisal Abu Obeida intersection in front of Dhahran Complex to open the road.
Transport Ministry equipment suctioned water under Doha Bridge at the intersection of Prince Sultan road and Prince Mohammed bin Fahd road.
The municipality of Al-Khobar province has suctioned rainwater from the main streets as it opened the King Faisal coastal road intersection with Prince Sultan road, as well as a number of main roads. Field teams were present in all neighborhoods that do not have rainwater drainage networks.
“All rain drainage stations were operating efficiently despite the very large rainfall amounts they were removing,” Al-Safyan said.
“The secretariat is still communicating with the General Authority for Meteorology and Environmental Protection to know weather conditions, as well as steady coordination with all concerned authorities.”