Desert City Is Flooding: UAE Receives A Year Worth Rain In Hours

A year’s worth of rain swept across the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday flooding major highways and its international airport. The Desert city has received more than a year and a half’s rain in just few hours.

The recently crowned second busiest airport in the world, the Dubai International Airport was underwater as massive aircraft attempted to navigate floodwaters. The disruption to airport operation continued till Wednesday.

The rain began on Monday and the storm intensified at about 9 am on Tuesday and continued throughout the day. By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 mm had soaked Dubai. The airports ended up halting arrivals on Tuesday night and passengers struggled to reach terminals through the floodwater covering surrounding roads.

Nearly 4 inches of rain fell over the course of just 12 hours on Tuesday. As per the CNN report, the rain fell so heavily that some of the motorists had to abandon their vehicles on the road as the floodwater rose and roads turned into rivers.

The incessant rain had left “limited transportation options” and affected flights as aircraft crew could not reach the airfield. The city’s driverless Metro network also saw disruptions and flooding.

Schools across the UAE were shut down and the government employees were mostly working remotely. Though authorities have sent tanker trucks to pump away the water, some of the homes were also inundated forcing residents to bail them out.

The country has not given out any official information regarding the overall damage. Since the rain is unusual in the UAE, many roads and other areas lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall, causing flooding.

Some of the inland areas of the UAE recorded more than 80 mm of rain on Tuesday. Lightning was also seen flashing across the sky, occasionally touching the tip of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The rain is expected to taper off in the region but a few showers may linger Wednesday before dry weather returns.