The UAE is braced for two more days of wet weather, with fog expected to roll in on Sunday.
The country has been hit by torrential rain, hail, thunder and lightning this week, prompting some schools to be shut and roads to be sealed off.
More downpours are expected on Friday, with a chance of further rainfall on Saturday, forecasters said.
Meanwhile, authorities convened this week to discuss emergency measures during the wet weather.
The Abu Dhabi Emergencies, Crises and Disasters Management Team was chaired by Fares Al Mazrouei, commander-in-chief of Abu Dhabi Police.
The meeting concluded with approved weather response plans, while the need for emergency teams to collaborate during the adverse conditions was emphasised.
The National Centre of Meteorology said skies would be overcast on Friday with more rain on the way, particularly in coastal, northern and eastern areas.
The winter chill will continue to bite, with daytime temperatures set to drop to 18°C in Dubai on Friday.
The mercury could plunge to as low as 7°C in Al Ain on Friday evening.
The weather centre, in its latest five-day bulletin, said there was a prospect of rainfall during the day on Saturday.
The NCM said there was a “probability of fog or mist formation” on Sunday and Monday.
A week of wet weather
Dubai Police said the force received more than 15,000 calls to its emergency number from Wednesday into Thursday, many due to accidents on the roads.
After roads were affected in the emirate in the heavy rainfall on Wednesday evening, the Roads and Transport Authority posted messages online on Thursday morning detailing closures that would affect residents.
The Ministry of Education said government-run schools could initiate e-learning, first introduced during the pandemic, if they wished.
Many private schools in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates moved online.
The country's labour authority, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, which regulates private sector companies, said employers must “ensure the safety of their employees”. This would include allowing them to work from home when needed.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Company%20profile
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Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
