Heavy rains lashed Dubai and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday (April 16) and flooded airport runways as well as malls in Dubai. Videos surfaced on social media platform X showing runway inundated and various places waterlogged in Dubai.
The heavy rains and the resultant flooding led to people abandoning vehicles on the road in Dubai.
Rains began overnight and the strong winds disrupted flights at Dubai International Airport. According to reports, Dubai received 120 millimeters (4.75 inches) of rainfall, the average of what the desert nation receives in a year, in just over a day's rainfall.
"Dubai is experiencing major flooding as 1.5 year’s worth of rain just fell in a single day. Nearly 5 inches (127 mm) fell in 24 hours," shared a user with video of Dubai Airport's runway flooded.
Flooding was witnessed at metro station due to extreme rains in Dubai. People were seen walking their way through the flood water. The water level was well over ankle height.
Dubai, also known for its swanky malls, perhaps for the first time in recent history, witnessed floods that overwhelmed its infrastructure. Even the Dubai malls could not withstand the rain fury and videos showed some malls flooded due to the heavy rains too.
"Feeling of Mumbai in Dubai!" exclaimed some after a clip of singer Rahul Vaidya negotiating his way through knee-high flood water surfaced on Instagram.
As per the forecast, more rains are expected before the showers subside. Though rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid, Arabian Peninsula nation, it occurs periodically during the cooler winter months. Several roads and other areas lack drainage given no regular rainfall, and that is also something that has caused the flooding. Rain was also witnessed in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
