Watch: Dubai deluge as storm dumps 1.5 years’ worth of rain in a matter of hours, flooding shopping centers, subways, and airports

A desert nation-state Heavy thunderstorms battered Dubai and other areas of the UAE, flooding key roads, airports, and the city’s driverless metro train system, giving Dubai an unexpected start to the month. News agencies report that Tuesday’s storms in the UAE poured more than 1.5 years’ worth of rain on Dubai.

The only emirate that received more rain than Dubai was Fujairah. The most rain fell on Tuesday, with 145 millimeters (5.7 inches) pouring in the emirate on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The northernmost emirate of the nation, Ras al-Khaimah, had one fatality. According to the local police, a 70-year-old man lost his life when floodwaters carried his car away.

The greatest rainstorm event to hit the nation in 75 years, the unceasing rains, caused sections of the roof to collapse and water to gushe out of the ceiling at the Mall of the Emirates, one of the biggest shopping malls in the world.

The constant rain also caused minor damage to the Deira City Center and Sharjah City Center.

As planes touched down at the airport, standing water lapped against the taxiways. Arrivals were eventually stopped by the airport on Tuesday night, and travelers had difficulty navigating the flooded roads to get to the terminals. A lot of drivers found it difficult to get their cars out of the unexpectedly deep water that was covering several highways.
To remove the water, the authorities have sent tanker trucks onto the roads and streets. A few houses were also flooded.

Over the course of a day, Dubai got more than 142 millimeters of rain. According to statistics from Dubai International Airport, the biggest international airport in the world and home base for long-haul airline Emirates, the emirate receives 94.7 millimeters of rainfall on average per year.

The Burj Khalifa, the highest structure in the world, was periodically touched by lightning as it streaked across the sky.

Due to its dry climate on the Arabian Peninsula, the United Arab Emirates often experiences little rain. Only rarely does it rain in the chilly winter months. Many roads and other places lack proper drainage systems as a result of the lack of rain, which causes floods. Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia all experienced rain.

The Dubai airport received five points on the arrival delay index on Tuesday, according to the website of international flight tracker Flightradar24. The indicator predicts a disturbance in arrival. The higher the score, the greater the chance of delays and cancellations.

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.