Heavy Rain Lashes Dubia Leading To Floods In United Arab Emirates

Updated: Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 23:54 PM by
Heavy Rain Lashes Dubia Leading To Floods In United Arab Emirates

Heavy rains have recently swept across the United Arab Emirates, including the bustling city of Dubai. While rain is not a frequent occurrence in this arid Arabian Peninsula nation, it does intermittently transpire during the cooler winter months. However, the recent downpour was anything but typical.

Dubai, known for its parched roads and desert landscape, found itself underwater due to an incredibly rare rainstorm. The city’s highways were flooded, leaving vehicles abandoned and snarling traffic. Even the airport runways were submerged, disrupting flight operations at Dubai International Airport, which happens to be the world’s busiest for international travel and the home of the long-haul carrier Emirates.

 

 

The storm brought more than 4.75 inches of rainfall - a quantity that typically represents an entire year’s worth of rain in this desert nation. Police and emergency personnel navigated the flooded streets, their emergency lights flashing as lightning bolts streaked across the sky. The iconic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, occasionally felt the touch of lightning at its tip.

In preparation for the storm, schools across the UAE closed their doors, and government employees worked remotely where possible. Many workers stayed home, while some unfortunate souls found their vehicles stalled in deeper-than-expected water on the roads. Authorities dispatched tanker trucks to pump away the floodwaters, which even seeped into homes, forcing residents to bail out their houses with buckets and pails.

Rain is indeed unusual in the UAE, given its arid climate. The lack of regular rainfall has left many roads and areas without proper drainage, exacerbating the flooding. And it wasn’t just Dubai - rain also fell in neighboring countries like Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, in Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, heavy rains claimed the lives of at least 18 people, including schoolchildren swept away in a vehicle.