Dubai clears up after epic rains swamp glitzy desert city
Dubai,
a city in the desert proud of its futuristic gloss, was on Thursday busy
clearing its waterclogged roads and drying out flooded homes two days after a
record storm saw a year's rain fall in a day.
Dubai
International Airport, a major travel hub, struggled to clear a backlog of
flights and many roads were still flooded in the aftermath of Tuesday's deluge.
The
rains were the heaviest experienced by the United Arab Emirates in the 75 years
that records have been kept. They brought much of the country to a standstill
and caused significant damage.
Flooding
trapped residents in traffic, offices and homes. Many reported leaks at their
homes, while footage circulated on social media showed malls overrun with water
pouring from roofs.
Traffic
remained heavily disrupted. A highway through Dubai was reduced to a single
lane in one direction, while the main road that connects Dubai with the capital
Abu Dhabi was closed in the Abu Dhabi direction.
"This
was like nothing else. It was like an alien invasion," Jonathan Richards,
a Dubai resident from Britain told Reuters.
"I
woke up the other morning to people in kayaks with pet dogs, pet cats,
suitcases all outside my house."
Another
resident, Rinku Makhecha, said the rain swamped her freshly renovated house she
moved into two weeks ago.
"My
entire living room is just like ... all my furniture is floating right
now," she said.
In
Dubai's streets, some vehicles, including buses, could be seen almost entirely
submerged in water. Long queues formed at petrol stations.
Dubai
airport had yet to resume normal operation after the storm flooded taxiways,
forcing flight diversions, delays and cancellations.
Dubai
Airports Chief Operating Officer Majed Al Joker told Al Arabiya TV he expected
Dubai International Airport to reach 60-70% capacity by the end of Thursday and
full operational capacity within 24 hours.
The
airport struggled to get food to stranded passengers with nearby roads flooded
and overcrowding limited access to those who had confirmed bookings.
The
storm, which hit neighbouring Oman on Sunday, pounded the UAE on Tuesday, with
20 reported dead in Oman and one in the UAE.
While
some roadways into hard-hit communities remain flooded, delivery services
across Dubai, whose residents are used to ordering everything at the click of a
mouse, slowly began returning to the streets.
Rains
are rare in the UAE and elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula, which is typically
known for its dry desert climate. Summer air temperatures can soar above 50
degrees Celsius.
Following
Tuesday's events, questions were raised whether cloud seeding, a process that
the UAE frequently conducts, could have caused the heavy rains.
But
climate experts blame global warming for such extreme weather events.
Researchers
anticipate that climate change will lead to heightened temperatures, increased
humidity and a greater risk of flooding in parts of the Gulf region.
Countries
like the UAE where there is a lack of drainage infrastructure to cope with
heavy rains can suffer the most.
A
UAE government agency that oversees cloud seeding - a process of manipulating
clouds to increase rainfall - denied conducting any such operations before the
storm.
President
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement he had ordered
authorities to assess the damage and provide support to families impacted by
the storm.
Dubai's
Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on X that the safety of
citizens, residents and visitors was the utmost priority.
"At
a meeting with government officials in Dubai, we set directives to prepare
comprehensive plans in response to natural crises' such as the unexpected current
weather conditions," he said.
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