Directorate General of Civil Aviation's Meteorological Department said on Wednesday that Kuwait's weather is currently witnessing unstable conditions with light to moderate freshening at times south easterly wind, with speed of 12 - 42 km/h with a chance for rain that might be thundery at times and visibility will decrease over some areas.
Heavy rainfall is expected in some areas which could lead to accumulation of water and possible torrents especially in areas that have already been filled with the previous rainfall.
As for tonight, he said the country will witness unstable weather condition with moderate to fresh south easterly wind to north easterly wind, with speed of 20 - 45 km/h with a chance for rain that might be thundery at times and visibility will decrease over some areas.
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Hossam Al-Roumi stressed on Wednesday that all government bodies are ready to deal with the unstable weather and potential heavy rain today, tomorrow and Friday, as predicted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's Meteorological Department.
Ministry of Defense has detected areas of the country affected by rain and began working on setting up barriers to prevent the rainwater from reaching residential areas. National Guard mobilized its vehicles to the city of Sabah Al-Ahmad's residential area and installed additional pumps on the southern rainwater sewers that reach the city in order to carry out suction operations for the largest amount of rain water expected to fall in the next three days.
Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Hossam Al-Roumi said on Wednesday that Mangaf tunnel is currently operating but will be closed in a precautionary measure. The minister said the tunnel will be considered as a reservoir in the event of heavy rain and potential rainwater reaching more than 30 millimeters to prevent rainwater from reaching the houses surrounding the tunnel.
"We now have large pumping machines and we can drain the tunnel. In the case of heavy rains and high tide where there is no discharge of rainwater despite presence of strong water drainage from the pumps, drainage systems may not be able to absorb the amount of rain, and God forbid, nearby homes may overflow", the minister clarified. "So, if the amount of rainwater is increased, the tunnel will be transferred into a semi-tank to protect the lives of citizens and residents, who are the most expensive and most important of all," the minister noted.