The heavy downpour in Hail has exposed the inferior quality of material used in construction at the city airport and Hail University.

It was indeed embarrassing to see water leaking through the ceilings of the airport building following the rains. The situation was no different at Hail University where several lecture halls were flooded with rainwater. Students and teachers had to look for alternative facilities to conduct lectures. To add to the embarrassment, some Twitter and WhatsApp posts showed water literally pouring down from the ceiling in the passenger lounge at the airport. The posts have gone viral.

A statement issued by Hail airport authorities said the heavy leakage on Sunday was on account of the contractor not undertaking waterproofing of the airport building’s roof.

Commuters in Hail had a harrowing time with water filling in potholes following the thunderstorm. Small cars faced a tough time negotiating water-logged roads.

The people in the province are not amused. They have demanded that the matter be brought to the notice of the Nazaha, the agency responsible for looking into corruption in the public sector.

Abdullah Al-Shamri, a Saudi, said he never thought that the beautiful Hail city would expose motorists to such hardships after just an ordinary downpour. “I was stranded in my car on Hail Road not knowing what I should do since it was water-logged,” he said, and wondered what the municipality was doing to protect city roads from flash floods. “What are the municipalities doing with the billions of riyals granted by the government to serve the people?” he asked. Khaled Al-Anazi, another citizen, attributed the poor drainage system in Hail city to the inefficiency of municipal officials.