Of all the problems faced by Qatar's World Cup, rainfall was probably the very last issue tournament organisers in the desert state expected to deal with. But severe flooding caused by a year's worth of rain has again raised questions over the ability of Qatar's infrastructure -- much of it being put in place for 2022 -- to cope with such conditions.

Extreme weather conditions on October 20 made roads impassable, flooded tunnels, universities, schools, clinics, embassies, the new national library and closed shops, some for several days, as 84 millimetres of rain fell.