Bahrain recorded 26 car accidents within two hours yesterday (January 6) due to heavy showers, which also damaged several homes areas across the country's five governorates.

Only one minor injury was reported in the accidents, which happened between 6am and 8pm, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Heavy rainfall is expected to continue today and traffic police issued a fresh warning to motorists to be cautious and avoid driving into large puddles created by the showers.

It said in a statement yesterday that a pedestrian suffered minor injuries in one of the accidents when he tried to cross a road.

"Twenty-six accidents were reported from 6am to 8am, but no fatalities reported," said a traffic directorate statement.

"Traffic was normal and flowing smoothly because of intensive police patrolling in different parts of Bahrain. Accident rates were normal because of rising awareness of drivers and co-operation and commitment to traffic rules."

Rescue

Sources said rescue teams had to cut open the car to free the driver and passenger, who were stuck inside. The GDN reported in November last year that Works Minister Essam Khalaf said the country was only prepared for average rainfall, but was working towards setting up drainage systems across all five governorates. – TradeArabia News Service