Flooded UAE counts cost of epic rainstorm, airport still facing disruptions

Flooded UAE counts cost of epic rainstorm, airport still facing disruptions

DUBAI:

After a rare and spectacular downpour swept the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, emergency personnel attempted to remove water-logged roadways while citizens evaluated the damage to homes and businesses.

Major transport hub Dubai International Airport was having trouble getting through a backlog of planes, and several roads remained waterlogged following Tuesday's torrential downpour.

The Gulf state had its greatest rainfall in the 75 years that records have been kept. They did great damage and brought much of the country to a stop.

Residents were stuck in cars, offices, and residences due to flooding. Numerous people reported having leaks in their homes, while social media users shared videos of water dripping from rooftops in malls.

The disruption to traffic persisted. Traffic on a highway passing through Dubai came to a complete stop when it was cut to one lane in one direction, while the main road leading from Dubai to Abu Dhabi was closed in the other direction.

Some cars, including buses, were nearly completely buried in water in Dubai. Long lines grew at gas outlets.

Drivers attempted to pass, dodging abandoned cars, while emergency personnel used a fire truck to pump water from a road swamped in nearly waist-deep water.

Due to aircraft cancellations, delays, and diversions caused by the storm flooding the runway, operations at Dubai Airport are still interrupted.

The airport reported on Thursday morning that although international carriers are again able to receive inbound aircraft at Terminal 1, there are still delays and disruptions in the air.

Later on, it announced that check-in for Emirates and flydubai flights was now open at Terminal 3, but it issued a warning that there were a lot of people in queue and that passengers should only show up at the terminal if they had a confirmation of their airline's departure.

The airport's biggest carrier, Emirates, had suspended all check-in operations on Wednesday.

Due to overpopulation that prevented some travellers with confirmed reservations from accessing the airport, the airport struggled to provide food to stranded passengers and neighbouring roads that were closed by floodwaters.

Returning supplies

Following its Sunday landfall in nearby Oman, the storm pummelling the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, producing hours-long traffic jams due to rains inundating homes and flooding highways. In the UAE, one person was reported deceased, and in Oman, twenty.

Additionally, officials have ordered government workers and students to remain indoors while flooded roadways are cleared.

Although fresh supplies are still harder to come by than usual, many grocery stores started to replenish their shelves even if certain roads leading to severely affected towns are still inundated.

Deliveries in Dubai, where people are accustomed to purchasing anything at the push of a button, have been mostly unavailable for the past two days, but they have gradually started to resume.

In the UAE and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, which is generally recognised for having a dry desert environment, rainfall is uncommon. Temperatures in the summer might rise above 50 degrees Celsius.

Following Tuesday's occurrences, speculation arose as to whether the massive rains were caused by cloud seeding, a procedure that the UAE regularly uses.

However, climate specialists claimed that the primary cause of extreme weather occurrences was global warming.

Researchers predict that higher temperatures, more humidity, and an increased danger of floods in some areas of the Gulf region will result from climate change. In nations like the United Arab Emirates, where there is inadequate drainage infrastructure to handle severe rainfall, the issue may get worse.

The government agency in charge of cloud seeding in the United Arab Emirates refuted reports that any cloud-manipulation operations were conducted prior to the storm.

In a statement, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said he had given the go-ahead for authorities to evaluate the damage and offer assistance to storm-affected people.