Dubai roads and airport flooded with heavy rains

The United Arab Emirates experienced torrential rainfall and flooding yesterday, in what the government has described as the largest amount of rainfall in the past 75 years. More than 142- millimetres of rain soaked Dubai over just 12 hours. Dubai International Airport, recently crowned the second-busiest airport in the world, diverted planes as its tarmac was under water. The UAE government says the downpours were an exceptional climate event.

According to CNN, the rain fell so heavily and so quickly that some motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles as the floodwater rose and roads turned into rivers. The weather conditions were associated with a larger storm system traversing the Arabian Peninsula and moving across the Gulf of Oman. In Oman, at least 18 were killed in flash floods triggered by heavy rain, the country’s National Committee for Emergency Management said.