By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter


The heavy downpour that hit Qatar yesterday caused several buildings, including some highrises in the upscale West Bay area of Doha, to develop leaks, besides flooding many roads.
Shopping centres, including The Villaggio and Ezdan Mall, were partially flooded when rainwater seeped through breaches in the roof. The Villaggio was closed for several hours yesterday.
While waterlogging on some roads is a common sight during heavy rains in Doha, yesterday’s downpour caused severe waterlogging not only on many roads, but also at several worksites where infrastructural development activities are in full swing. The works which were hit in the early hours however resumed later in the day.
Many inner and arterial roads in the low-lying areas were also heavily hit and flooding was reported. The roads in the vicinity of Onaiza traffic signal too experienced similar conditions.
The large open area near General Post Office in West Bay, where a large number of office-goers park their cars, was also witnessed extreme flooding.
Similarly, some areas of the the main road from Wakrah Town to the Industrial Area, passing through Wukair experienced slight waterlogging in the early hours, causing traffic congestion for a while but the situation improved considerably later in the day.     
Flooding was apparently heavy in many places in the south and south western parts of the country, including Salwa Road, where one of the tunnels was flooded again as in the previous year.
The roads in the Industrial Area, especially those in its eastern side, which have been in a bad shape for several years experienced severe flooding, it is learnt. The roads turned muddier after yesterday’s rains, making it difficult for the movement of heavy vehicles which come for delivering goods to a number of foodstuff warehouses.