UAE reports illness linked to contaminated water after floods

[April 25, 2024]  DUBAI (Reuters) - A small number of people in the United Arab Emirates have shown symptoms associated with contaminated water after heavy rains and floods, the health ministry said.

The statement, carried by the state news agency late on Wednesday, did not say exactly how many people had been affected or what exactly they were treated for.

There have been "a very limited number of cases that showed some symptoms of being affected by the mixed water" and they received hospital treatment, the ministry said.

It did not say what the water had been contaminated with.

The UAE was hit by record rains on April 16 that brought parts of the Gulf country to a standstill, heavily flooding some neighborhoods, including in Dubai and northern cities.

Four people died in the floods.

Cars are stranded in flood water on a blocked highway following heavy rainfall, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 19, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo

(Writing by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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