Dust storm plays havoc with residents

Strong dust winds with speeds of up to 35km/hr on Sunday morning spread panic among residents in Sharjah. Fast-spreading rumours about an impending cyclonic dust storm over the region only aggravated their anxiety. Some of them even went to the extent of asking for their children, who were already in school, to be sent back home. Some schools closed early to let the children return home, accompanied by their worried parents who had rushed there to collect their wards. The inclement weather and rumours of a cyclone forced some parents of children studying in Sharjah Indian School to rush back to school to pick up their kids, principal RK Nair said. “It was up to the parents to take their children home. I am not closing the school based on rumours,” Nair told The Gulf Today. However, by afternoon, the winds weakened and visibility perceptibly improved from the lowest 1,200 mts reported in the morning by Sharjah airport Met sources. The southerly winds, which originated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, had blanketed most of the UAE with dust and sand and greatly reduced horizontal visibility. The NCMS had warned motorists to be careful while seafarers were barred from venturing out into the sea. “Fresh to strong north-westerly winds started to affect the Western Region with the current wind speed of 43 km/hr recorded over Makasib Island,” the NCMS said on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, Sunday morning’s rumours spread like wildfire via modern telecommunication gadgets, with some using their BlackBerrys to send images of “a thick sandstorm that had kicked off in Riyadh on Saturday.” The images were posted on YouTube, supposedly taken from atop a tower in Riyadh, an Arab woman employee, showing the concerned message to The Gulf Today, said. However, the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), Abu Dhabi, categorically dismissing rumours of a cyclone, informed The Gulf Today that the sandstorms had began to recede gradually by the evening. Moreover, a fresh north-westerly wind (Shamal) originating from the sea on early Sunday morning would clear the dust by night. Meanwhile, light rain was reported in Ras Al Khaimah and over the northern mountains on Sunday morning but the NCMS has not predicted any rainfall for Monday. It adds that the shamal would continue to blow on Monday and Tuesday and change the current direction of the duststorms. A fall in day temperatures, starting from the western area, was also reported by NCMS. Sharjah recorded a maximum of 27°C on Sunday. Police warning Sharjah police is warning motorists and road users about the current inclement weather conditions. Motorists are urged to adhere to speed limits or even slow down even in the event of a sandstorm, keeping in mind the reduced visibility which impacts road safety, a police press release said on Sunday. “The wind has blown a lot of dust and objects on to the roads, especially on highways surrounded by the desert,” a police spokesman said. “The roads could be very dangerous for any speeding driver,” he added. However, while police confirmed that there were no accidents reported despite the unstable dusty weather conditions, motorists needed to make sure they drove slowly to avoid accidents, which could be caused due to low visibility on roads. GV closed Meanwhile, WAM reported that the Global Village remained closed on Sunday due to bad weather. A statement from the Global Village said that as part of its keenness to protect the health of the visitors and the employees, the management decided to close the Village for Sunday.