As the number of fatalities from Oman’s floods climbs to 18, the UAE and neighboring countries are hit by intense rainfall

Tuesday’s intense rainstorms in the United Arab Emirates caused major highways to flood in certain areas and left cars abandoned on Dubai’s roads. As the sultanate braced for the storm, the death toll from a separate, severe flooding incident in neighboring Oman increased to 18, and there were still unaccounted-for deaths.

The world’s biggest international airport and home to long-haul airline Emirates, Dubai International Airport, had enormous puddles on its roadways due to the overnight rains, which also caused whipping winds to interfere with aircraft. The city-state was saturated by more than 120 millimeters (4.75 inches) of rain by the evening, which is more than the ordinary amount for a year in the country of deserts. More rain is predicted in the next several hours.

With their emergency lights blazing through the black dawn, police and emergency workers drove cautiously through the flooded streets. The Burj Khalifa, the highest structure in the world, was periodically touched by lightning as it streaked across the sky.

The UAE, a confederation of seven sheikhdoms, closed most of its schools in advance of the storm, and most government workers worked from home when they could. Even while some workers went outside, most chose to remain inside their cars, with the unlucky ones stalling their cars in the unexpectedly deep water that was covering several highways.

To remove the water, the authorities sent tanker trucks onto the streets and roads. Some homes were inundated by water, requiring homeowners to save their properties.

The United Arab Emirates is an arid republic on the Arabian Peninsula; rain falls there seldom during the colder winter months. Due to little rainfall, many roads and other locations lack proper drainage, which results in floods.

Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia all experienced rain.

According to a statement released on Tuesday by the nation’s National Committee for Emergency Management, at least 18 people have died in recent days from torrential rains in the neighboring sultanate of Oman, which is located on the eastern border of the Arabian Peninsula.

This includes the ten or so students who were carried away in a car with an adult, for which the nation received condolences from leaders around the area.