Qatar has issued a travel ban on a number of contractors in the country after extreme rainfall led to flooding, in turn damaging the buildings and roads within the city. According to an official statement, all “owners of companies, contractors and consulting engineers” were banned from traveling abroad until the conclusion of an investigation initiated by the government.
Part of Doha’s Hamad International Airport was damaged due to rainwater seeping in through its roof. Rainwater also flooded the streets of Doha and forced some stores to temporarily halt operations.
The government quickly launched a probe on five unnamed companies, in an effort to determine responsibility for the damage to buildings and roads. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani said: “Parties responsible for dereliction or negligence, whether governmental or private, will be held accountable."
Qatar Meteorology Department estimated that the airport area saw around 79.5 millimetres of rainfall last week, way above the 50 millimeters of rain that the Gulf country normally experienced in a whole year.
By Mary Sophia
