The desert nation of United Arab Emirates was lashed with strong thunderstorms dumping the “heaviest” rain recorded ever in the country in a span of hours flooding out portions of major highways and Dubai’s international airport. Footage shared by users on social media showed an inundated Dubai airport.
According to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport, the rains which began late Monday touched some 20 millimeters (0.79 inches) mark soaking the sands and roadways of Dubai, reported the Associated Press.
The storm intensified on Tuesday at 9 am (local time) and continued throughout the day dumping more rain and hail onto the overwhelmed city.
What happened in Dubai International Airport? #Dubai #DubaiAirport pic.twitter.com/Yk10sQk12i
— gisipen (@gisipen) April 17, 2024
By the end of Tuesday, over 142 millilemtres rainfall soaked the the city, which typically records around 127 mm of rain in a year. The Dubai airport, one of the busiest aiports in the world for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates, saw standing waters lapping on taxiway as aicraft landed leading the airport to halt arrivals Tuesday night while passengers struggled to reach terminals through the floodwater covering surrounding roads.
“Absolute carnage,” said a couple who spoke to the news agency, adding, “You cannot get a taxi. There’s people sleeping in the Metro station. There’s people sleeping in the airport.”
As per a report by the New York Times, at least 18 people were killed in Oman due to the record rains that inundated the UAE and surrounding countries.
Delays And Cancellations At Dubai Airport
On Wednesday morning, the Dubai International Aiport acknowledged that the flooding had left “limited transportation options” and affected flights as aircraft crews couldn’t reach the airfield.
“Recovery will take some time,” the airport said in a social media post on X, adding: “We thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through these challenges.”
In a weather update, Emirates advised its Dubai customers with flights scheduled for Wednesday not to go the Dubai airport as “check-in remains suspended for all flights”.
FlyDubai also said it had temporally suspended all of its flights departing from Dubai until 10am local time (7am UK time) on Wednesday due to the bad weather, the UAE state news agency WAM reported.
