Dubai flooding amid atypical heavy rains snarls traffic on UAE roads and airport runways
Blog section revised on: April 16, 2024 / 11:52 AM EDT / CBS/AP
On Tuesday, there was a lot of rain in the United Arab Emirates and it caused some of the big roads to flood. This made a lot of cars stop and block the way for other cars. The international airport in Dubai also had problems because of the rain and stopped completely for a short time. In a nearby country called Oman, there was also heavy rain, which caused a lot of problems. Sadly, 18 people have died because of the flooding and some others are still missing. The government is getting ready for more bad weather.
During the night, the rain started pouring down heavily, causing huge puddles to form on the usually dry roads and runways of Dubai International Airport. The strong winds didn't help the situation and led to flight delays and cancellations at the airport, which is renowned as the busiest hub for international travel and also home to the popular airline, Emirates. The airport management stated via various social media platforms that the operations had to be suspended for approximately 25 minutes on Tuesday afternoon and all the incoming planes would be redirected to other airports until the weather showed signs of improvement.
In the evening, the UAE received over 4.75 inches of rainfall, which is the usual amount of rain that falls in a whole year in a desert country. It is anticipated that more rain will come in the forthcoming hours.
The police and emergency staff cruised leisurely in their vehicles through the flooded roads. Their emergency lights were flickering as bolts of lightning brightened the sky, occasionally coming in contact with the highest point of the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building on the globe.
As the storm approached, most schools in the UAE (which is made up of seven different areas ruled by sheiks) closed. Government workers who could, worked from home. Some people stayed home from work, but others tried to make their way out despite the storm. Unfortunately, some people's cars stopped working because the water in some places was deeper than expected.
The officials dispatched tanker trucks to the roads to eliminate the excessive water caused by floods. The floods invaded some people's homes, obligating them to use buckets and pails to take the water out from their households.
It's not common for the UAE, a dry country on the Arabian Peninsula, to experience rain. However, it does happen occasionally during the cool winter months. The flooding has been made worse by the fact that many roads and other places don't have proper drainage because rain is infrequent.
Precipitation was also experienced in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Across the border in Oman, a country ruled by a sultan located on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, severe rainfall has caused the deaths of at least 18 individuals as reported by the National Committee for Emergency Management on Tuesday. Among those lost were approximately 10 school-aged children who and an adult, who were taken away by strong currents while traveling in a vehicle on Monday.
Weather experts have been cautioning us for a long time about the effects of human-caused climate change. This phenomenon is causing weather patterns to become more erratic and unpredictable worldwide.
In recent days, regions in the south of Russia and Central Asia have experienced higher than usual levels of rainfall and snow melting. This has caused severe damage and compelled tens of thousands of residents to shift to higher areas for safety. Unfortunately, the aftermath of such natural calamities was devastating as death tolls reached over 60 in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
