Rare thundershowers wreak havoc, flooding streets, causing chaos in Bahrain
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Reported by Julia Cassano
Early morning thundershowers and lightning, especially in Bahrain, are a rare phenomenon. However, people in Bahrain, had such an experience yesterday morning and late night on Wednesday, as it also came packed with a punch.
Many told The Daily Tribune that they were startled and thrown out of sleep by the powerful lightning bolts, boom of thunder, and gusts of winds. Mohammed, a Bahraini citizen, told The Daily Tribune that he was thrown out of bed by a string of lightning bolts.
“At around midnight, I woke up to continuous strikes of lightning, followed by thunder which kept me up throughout most of the night,” he said. Several others confirmed that the storm started suddenly, with loud thundery vibrations wreaking havoc all through the night. Many said they were surprised to see sunny, blue skies, after the night-long havoc.
“When I woke up, I was shocked to notice blue, clear skies,” Mohammed said, adding that he was expecting a storm through the day. The Daily Tribune also went for a ride around the Kingdom to find out if the late night and early morning showers had flooded any of the streets here.
The Tribune spotted pools of water across the back roads in Um Al Hassam, where vehicles were seen plying with extreme caution. However, Hamad Town, Tubli, and Isa Town, some streets were heavily flooded with water, and people there blamed it on the improper drainage systems.
People said this delayed them to the point that they arrived for work late, as they had to take extra caution when driving. Many said that yesterday morning, they avoided the streets in the area to save their vehicles from costly electronic and mechanical damages In a statement, the General Directorate warned of high-speed winds and rain and urged all to exercise extreme caution and warned to stay away from trees and large billboards as much as possible.
Authorities also urged drivers to stay in their lanes, within speed limit, and maintain a safe distance between vehicles. In a statement, the Coast Guard Command also called on sea-goers to take caution.
What could be the reason for this?
Research had shown that regardless of where you are in the world, lighting bolts are most powerful at around 8am.
The reason: At this time, there will be few particles in the atmosphere, hence demanding more powerful charges to overcome the space between these particles and release the bolt. Experience of Bahrainis here yesterday added more weight to this theory.
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