Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates was hit by heavy rains, causing flooding on major highways and leaving vehicles stranded across Dubai. The downpour also disrupted traffic at Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel.
Neighboring Oman faced a separate heavy flooding incident, resulting in a death toll of 18 with several others still missing as the country braced for further storms.
The rainfall began overnight, creating large pools of water on streets and airport runways. Strong winds exacerbated the situation, leading to flight delays and cancellations at Dubai International Airport. The airport temporarily suspended all operations for approximately 25 minutes on Tuesday afternoon, diverting all incoming flights until weather conditions improved.
By the evening, over 4.75 inches of rain had drenched the UAE, surpassing the average annual rainfall for the desert nation. More rain was forecasted in the hours ahead, raising concerns about continued flooding and its impact on the region.
Police and emergency personnel drove slowly through the flooded streets, their emergency lights flashing as bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, occasionally touching the tip of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
Schools across the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, largely shut ahead of the storm and government employees were mostly working remotely where possible. Many workers stayed home as well, though some ventured out, with the unfortunate stalling out their vehicles in deeper-than-expected water covering some roads.
Authorities sent tanker trucks out into the streets to pump away the floodwaters, which poured into some homes, forcing people to grab buckets and pails to try to bail out their houses.
Rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid Arabian Peninsula nation, but occurs periodically during the cooler winter months. Many roads and other areas lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall, which has exacerbated the flooding.
Rain also fell in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
In neighboring Oman, a sultanate that rests on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, at least 18 people had been killed in heavy rains in recent days, according to a Tuesday statement from the country's National Committee for Emergency Management. That includes about 10 schoolchildren who were swept away Monday in a vehicle along with an adult.
Climatologists have been sounding the alarm for years about the impact of human-driven climate change on global weather patterns, leading to more extreme and unpredictable weather events.
In recent days, parts of southern Russia and Central Asia have been hit hard by unprecedented levels of rainfall and snowmelt, resulting in widespread damage and the need for tens of thousands of people to evacuate to higher ground. Tragically, the severe weather has claimed the lives of more than 60 individuals in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
