Kuwait warns of severe weather conditions this weekend

Kuwait’s meteorological office has warned of the possibility of unstable weather across the country during the weekend.

The Gulf state, which has been hit by a spate of heavy rains and flooding, will continue to see severe weather conditions from Thursday until Monday, meteorologist Abdulaziz Al Qarawi told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

Friday’s weather will see sporadic rainfall during the day with wind speeds expected to reach 60km/hr, leading to a seven foot rise in sea levels, Al Qarawi said.

The strong winds are forecast to cause low visibility in some areas.

The “capricious weather patterns” are expected to continue until Monday morning, he added.

The country has seen extensive damage to roads and infrastructure linked to heavy rains and flooding in recent weeks, with government offices and banks forced to suspend operations on two separate days.

Operations at the country’s main airport were also briefly suspended last week due to the unstable weather.

Read: Update: Kuwait airport resumes operations after halting flights

On Tuesday, Kuwait’s minister of state for housing affairs and services said one engineering office and six companies would be excluded from future tenders after their projects were damaged by heavy rainfall.

Read: Kuwait suspends seven firms from housing projects after flooding

Those affected by heavy rains and flooding in Kuwait will also be compensated, the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah announced last week.

Read: Kuwaiti PM says those affected by heavy rains will be compensated