Ok, I got the power back on in my flat. Although my windows were all closed dust still managed to come into the house and now EVERYTHING has a layer of sand on it. I couldn’t see ANYTHING outside my window. When I first heard the wind I looked outside and I saw a cloud of sand literally sweep into my block like a huge wave, something I’ve only seen in movies. Within second visibility dropped down to like 10cm, I couldn’t see ANYTHING outside. That extremely powerful wind with dust continued for a couple of minutes before I started hearing a banging sound on my window. I stepped back thinking whatever was hitting my window was going to break it but then I noticed it was rain drops. In a few seconds it started raining really strong and the dust cleared up but then I noticed the rain was so powerful and in such large quantity that water started pouring into my apartment like a waterfall from the window sill. I quickly grabbed a ton of towels and started to do what I can to hold back the water. Once I got that under control I called Nat up to see if she was ok.
Nat was at the gym when the storm hit and she was extremely pissed. The power shutdown at her gym and when they tried to exit the building all exits were locked. The elevators stopped working so when they took the fire escape all the exits were blocked. Her and the other gym members are EXTREMELY pissed off now because if there had been a fire they would all have been fucked. And its not some small shabby gym, this happened at Flex!
Anyway I would like to thank susheeh for naming this storm Hurricane Kuwaitina. How hard were you guys hit? Post your experience in the comments below.
If you have any pictures email them to me: [email protected]
Update: I am uploading all the pictures I get to a photo album which you can view by clicking [Here]
27 replies on “Hurricane Kuwaitina”
I live in Salmiyah and this reminded pretty much of the storms back in the states.
I live on the 12th floor brand new building and the water leaked in through the windows and the glass doors. Cheap constructions.
It is weird how none of my friends get any of it, those who live in Manqaf.
i got some pics up
miskeena nat.
here in fahed Salem Street (Muthanna) it was just like you described it,, but no power failure,,, the plastic bags were spiralling upwards way above the 13th floor god knows where,, the streets flooded in about 3 mintes,, but now its clear and nice and cool – no more dust.
I can see Salmiyah with lights sparkling for the first time in days..
I think they call this kind of hail storm ‘sarrayat’ in the local lingo..
really interesting…
We had scattered rain showers all day long. It also hailed lightly for few second too. Right now the sun is shining through the scattered clouds 🙂
guys is it heading south ? cuz there is nothing around here..
bnaider/zoor/khiran is fine even the sea is full of ppl while the storm was hitting the city. hope its not heading down here.
My friends in Fintas, they’ve had nothing yet………… what the hell was that?!! dust flooowed into my apartment , the whole room, i was actually coughing, then the rain poured in and like u Mark, I thought whatever was hitting the window was going to break it!!
Hah, nothing in Bayan. It was just windy for about a minute and a half. I’m not covered in a layer of dust.
Utter chaos, I’ve never seen hail smashing against my windows like that. The noise was so loud, I actually thought the huge windows in my sitting room were going to cave in. Pretty terrifying, especially at the peak of the storm.
Today being Friday I decided to clean the house earlier today :S LuckilyI had closed all my vents so my house was airtight!! Here in Salwa the wind was insane very very strong and It really hit in as soon as it was Maghrib prayer time so it was turning dark and the weather changed with it. Loads of dust and wind and then just like you said POW Rain!?!?! a few houses in my block had their garages fall on the cars and saw some people waiting for the insurance guys I guess.
well its better then being outside and being blown over like all the garbage cans which are lying across the roads!
We were wrapping up our football match when it started, as soon as we got into our cars there was a dust tornado and it was reaching up pretty high. We drove away fast sh!tless scared! What a scene that was.
I was in my car and couldn’t drive. i saw trees fall infont of me, it was so scary. At first i saw many objects flying in the air then the hail was dropping on my car like rocks. I wanted to call my family but there wasn’t any connection service on my cell phone.
mark – please ask your wife and her fellow gym members to file a complaint with the fire department since, as you noted, this could have been a more lethal incident in case of a fire or otherwise. its important that the blocking of fire exits be highlighted as a major problem in kuwait.
there were also reports of hail falling in shuwaikh residential.
Yeah I think she should to. I told her to post about what happened to try and create awareness on this issue. When I spoke to her on the phone and she told me they were stuck in the building and couldn’t get out I got really pissed. They even turned on the fire alarm to try and get some help!
its global warming hittin kuwait hehehe
I can’t believe what happened in Flex! Nat should definitely file a complaint!
Okay…my friend just came back from Souq Sharq and the place was felled with sewer flood. Try to avoid the place for next few days ^_^.
Update – Fahed Salem Street
There is still gentle rain but still very windy,
Entrance to Al-Muthanna near Boots pharmacy still blocked by a police car
Joun Al-Kuwait Tower: big sign fell to the street (made from wood)
Burj-Al_Abrar: Two big metallic and plastic signs (about 12 meters x 2 meters) fell on the street. Fortunately came down between the building and the parked cars,,
Burj-Alwataniyah (where Hassan optic is): also crumpled metal signs have fallen off to the streets – approximately 3 meters in length
Masjid AlMulla Saleh: the glass kiosk nearby has been uprooted and a lot of glass gravel lies in the street just before the traffic light near Anjary Bldg and NBK branch.
I know the (above) sounds awful but should give us an idea about the shoddy work those sign_people do when they hang their big sings. Granted that tall buildings generate extra wind pools, still advertisers should be more serious about the lives of people who happen to be walking down the streets,, when they hang their large and heavy posters.
It just showered here, nothing else happened :S
Tan Go
Thank you for your information. I agree with you regarding the ads signs. Owners usually try cutting corners in signs supporting system to save money. I hope they learn a lesson now and take the matter seriously before hanging any signs on their buildings.
Fortunately, major buildings are designed for a minimum of 95 mph wind speed in Kuwait which is much higher than the actual recorded wind speed.
Here in shamiya we had hail stones as big as marbles… it was crazy… I noticed most trees on the 1st ring road are badly damaged.
I was in my car when it all happened first I couldn’t see the car that was in front of my but then my car started shaking and I managed to see some flaying boxes and broken trees
Okay… so the weather forecast guys on the radio kept saying we were going to have gorgous weather this weekend… and yahoo said we were going to have storms… and I chose to believe the radio folks!!!
You know… one of my uncle’s frndz called him and told him that some ppl who went to sea got lost or were overboard and can’t be found…. what the hell…? You know there should have been some sort of warning…
My friends rented a yacht and said that it was an adventure but at the time they were shit scared and were literally hanging on for dear life!! (i was supposed to go but backed out at the last minute…)…
In my grandmothers house one of the drain thingys over flooded and the house smelled like the sewers for the longest time…. UGH!!
We got stuck in traffice for 45mins while the police men and guys in yellow suits and trucks were trying to remove a huge tree that fell on the road…
NEED I SAY MORE!!!
it was pretty fucked in salwa,i was like that shit looks like a scene out of the war of the worlds and the next minute it hit..
Mark, am very concerned that doors locked at Nat’s gym. that is such bad news. something ought to be done about that esp if there is a fire or another emergency. Mark, please let us know which gym it is.
We went to Kubar with a overloaded boat…Had a great time…but on our way back we meet the storm at sea…some adventure. But glad to be alive… Strange feeling when you are hanging on to each other for life…so you will not blown overboard…
When we came back to Souk Sharq we realize how bad it was….our car was covered in leafs and gras. and two roads block from water…and snow every where….=)
The hot shower was a blessing from god…
Adventure in Kuwait…=)