Dubai received a year’s worth of rainfall in one day on Tuesday, causing intense flash flooding across the city that swamped Dubai International Airport’s runway and made it look like an ocean, turning roads into rivers and submerging homes. The airport suspended flight operations for nearly half an hour.
On Tuesday, nearly 100mm of rain fell at the airport in just 12 hours, with a total of 160mm falling in 24 hours. The average annual rainfall in Dubai is approximately 88.9 mm.
In an announcement on Wednesday morning, Dubai International Airport asked travelers to “check flight status… and allow substantial additional time to travel to the airport.”
Videos on social media showed the runway completely submerged. Large passenger planes looked more like ships as they traveled along a submerged runway that resembled an ocean.
Dubai’s website showed dozens of flights were delayed or canceled on Tuesday, with affected destinations including India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
Emirates said in a statement that a number of flights were delayed or canceled due to bad weather.
Low-cost airline Flydubai also confirmed that it has temporarily suspended all flights from Dubai until 10am (local time) on Wednesday.
“All Flydubai flights scheduled to depart Dubai tonight (April 16) have been canceled with immediate effect until 10:00 (Dubai local time) on April 17. During this period, passengers whose final destination is not Dubai will not Travel has been canceled,” Reuters quoted an airline spokesman as saying in a statement.
On Tuesday morning, the National Meteorological Center of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued weather warnings for most of the country, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
Dubai Police also issued warnings to avoid certain roads in the city due to flash flooding.
Meanwhile, other countries in the region also experienced heavy rains and subsequent flooding.
In neighboring Oman, flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall killed at least 18 people.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), on April 14, the victims included 10 students whose vehicle was swept away by strong currents while trying to cross flooded areas.
Meanwhile, in Bahrain, videos on social media showed vehicles stranded on flooded roads.
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