Dubai, known for its towering skyscrapers and sprawling highways, experienced severe disruptions due to unprecedented rainfall, with the city’s infrastructure struggling to cope with the overflow.
Official reports confirmed that the rain, which amounted to nearly two years’ worth in a single day, was the heaviest since records began in 1949.
The desert city saw up to 254 millimetres of rain pummeling the region on Tuesday, leading to substantial flooding across the United Arab Emirates.
The torrential downpour caused significant tailbacks along
major six-lane expressways and impeded the normal bustle of the world’s busiest airport by international traffic.
Dubai Airports urged passengers to avoid travelling to the airport
“unless absolutely necessary.” A spokesperson stated, “Flights continue to be delayed and diverted. We are working hard to recover operations as quickly as possible in very challenging conditions.”
The city’s flagship carrier, Emirates Airline, cancelled all check-ins on Wednesday, as both staff and travellers faced difficulties reaching the airport due to flooded access roads and suspended metro services.
The disruption extended to long taxi queues and crowds of delayed passengers at the airport, with numerous flights also being delayed, cancelled, or diverted.
Tragedy struck as the storms claimed lives across the region. In Ras Al-Khaimah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, a 70-year-old man died after being swept away in his vehicle, according to local police.
The wider Middle East also felt the impact, with the storms having
previously wreaked havoc in Oman, resulting in 18 fatalities, including several children.
Climatologist Friederike Otto highlighted the potential influence of climate change on the severity of the storms.
Speaking to AFP, Otto noted, “It is highly likely that global warming had worsened the storms,” indicating a disturbing trend of increasing extreme weather events linked to climate shifts.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, while efforts to restore normalcy and assess the full impact of the storm are underway.
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