A vehicle is engulfed in muddy water as a Dubai road turns into a river due to heavy rain / Abdel Hadi Ramahi / Reuters
2024.04.17 Wednesday Posted at 07:35 JST
(CNN) Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), received a year’s worth of rain on the 16th, causing massive flooding. Roads turned into rivers and houses were flooded.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s second busiest airport, delayed takeoffs and landings by around 30 minutes on the same day due to heavy rain. The tarmac was submerged in water, and the footage showed a large plane moving through the water. The airport has announced that it has disrupted its flight schedule and that large-scale flooding has occurred on the roads around the airport.
Almost 100 millimeters of rain was seen at the airport in 12 hours. According to UN data, this amount is equivalent to the total rainfall in Dubai in a year.
Some people were forced to abandon their cars as the sudden heavy rain flooded the roads and turned them into rivers. Videos posted on social media showed rainwater pouring into shopping centers and flooding homes.
People trying to tow a vehicle on a flooded road on the 16th, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)/Jon Gambrell/AP
Dubai’s climate, like other cities in the country, is hot and dry. Rainfall is scarce, and the infrastructure is not built for heavy rains like this.
The heavy rain in Dubai is the result of a large storm moving across the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf of Oman, with neighboring Oman and south-east Iran also experiencing extreme rainfall. At least 17 people have died in flash floods in Oman.
Due to climate change caused by human factors, heavy rainfall is expected to increase in the future.
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