Qatar receives more than a year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, exposing extensive leaks at Doha’s $17bn airport and prompting PM to order an inquiry

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Qatar has launched an investigation after heavy rains exposed poor construction in the country, which is set to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

The Gulf state has been hit by more than a year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, bringing widespread disruption.

The state-run Qatar News Agency said five firms were under investigation, without elaborating. It said the inquiry had been ordered by the prime minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, who also serves as interior minister.

The report late on Wednesday said “parties responsible for dereliction or negligence, whether governmental or private, will be held accountable”.

Rain on Wednesday deluged Doha’s Hamad international airport, the home of Qatar Airways. Social media users reported leaks at the facility, which opened last year and is estimated to have cost $17bn (£11.2bn). The airport said flights operated normally throughout the day.

Rainwater flooded streets in Doha and forced some shops to close.Schools were shut, as was the US embassy, and hotels were also affected.

The World Bank says Qatar averages 74mm of rain a year.

The scale of the disruption was especially worrying as Qatar has undertaken a $200bn infrastructure programme to ensure it is ready for the World Cup in 2022. Qatar is well known for its fierce summer temperatures, which forced organisers to move the tournament to November and December for the first time.

Bad weather also affected neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where one person was killed during flooding. Schools were closed for a second day as rain continued to fall on Riyadh. Some streets were flooded, forcing drivers to abandon their cars.

About 10 cars were submerged under about two metres of water in a highway underpass in the Labban district on the capital’s western outskirts, an AFP photographer reported. Workers were trying to drain the floodwaters into tanker trucks.

The civil defence agency reported that 72 vehicles had been rescued in the Riyadh region with their occupants unharmed. One person died in Rimah, north-east of the city, the agency said.

Other parts of the kingdom have also been soaked this week. At least eight people died in flooding last week in the Medina and Jeddah areas of western Saudi Arabia.