Dubai Clears Flooded Roads After Record Rainstorm

(CTN News) – Dubai, a desert metropolis known for its futuristic gleam, was draining waterlogged roads and drying out flooded homes on Thursday, two days after a record storm dumped a year’s worth of rain in a single day.

Dubai International Airport, a major travel center, struggled to clear a backlog of flights, while several roadways remained inundated following Tuesday’s deluge.

The United Arab Emirates experienced the heaviest rains in 75 years of records. They brought most of the country to a halt and inflicted extensive damage.

Flooding stranded people in cars, offices, and houses. Many people reported leaks in their homes, and videos circulating on social media showing malls inundated with water spilling from roofs.

Unprecedented Rainfall Paralyzes Dubai

Traffic was highly affected. A highway through Dubai was cut to a single lane in one direction, while the primary road connecting Dubai to the capital, Abu Dhabi, was closed in the other direction.

“It wasn’t like anything else. “It was like an alien invasion,” Jonathan Richards, a British resident in Dubai, told Reuters.

“I woke up the other morning to people in kayaks with pet dogs, pet cats, suitcases all outside my house.”

Another resident, Rinku Makhecha, said the rain flooded her newly restored home, which she moved into two weeks ago.

“My entire living room is just like … all my furniture is floating right now,” she went on to say.

Some cars, including buses, were almost completely immersed in water on Dubai’s streets. Long lines formed at petrol stations.

Dubai Airport had yet to resume normal operations after the storm flooded taxiways, resulting in flight diversions, delays, and cancellations.

Majed Al Joker, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Airports, told Al Arabiya TV that he expects Dubai International Airport to be at 60-70% capacity by the end of Thursday and fully operating within 24 hours.

Airport Operations Disrupted: Clearing the Backlog

The airport struggled to provide food to stranded travelers as neighboring roads flooded and crowds hampered access to those with confirmed tickets.

The storm that slammed nearby Oman on Sunday battered the UAE on Tuesday, killing 20 in Oman and one in the UAE.

While some roads into hard-hit districts remain inundated, delivery services in Dubai, where inhabitants are accustomed to getting things with the click of a mouse, have slowly returned to the streets.

Rains are uncommon in the UAE and elsewhere in the Arabian Peninsula, which is noted for its arid desert climate. Summer air temperatures can exceed 50 degrees Celsius.

Following Tuesday’s occurrences, there were queries over whether cloud seeding, a common practice in the UAE, could have caused the severe rainfall.
Climate researchers blame global warming for extreme weather events.

Researchers predict that climate change will cause higher temperatures, more humidity, and a greater danger of floods in sections of the Gulf region. Countries with a lack of drainage infrastructure to deal with severe rains, such as the UAE, are particularly vulnerable.

A UAE government organization in charge of cloud seeding, which is the manipulation of clouds to increase rainfall, denied undertaking any such operations before to the storm.

President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement that he has directed authorities to assess the damage and provide assistance to families affected by the storm.

Dubai’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stated on X that the safety of citizens, residents, and visitors was his first priority.

“At a meeting with government officials in Dubai, we set directives to prepare comprehensive plans in response to natural crises’ such as the unexpected current weather conditions,” he told reporters.