A year's worth of rain submerges normally dry Dubai
A year's worth of rain caused massive flash floods in Dubai on Tuesday, turning roads into rivers and flooding homes and businesses.
Shocking video shows the runway at Dubai International Airport, recently named the world's second busiest airport, submerged as a giant plane attempts to navigate through flood waters. A large jet looks like a boat moving through a flooded airport, followed by spray and waves crashing in the deep ocean.
The disruption to airport operations continued into Wednesday as access roads were blocked by flooding and multiple airlines, including Emirates, reported flight delays. Low-cost airline flydubai canceled all flights until 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
Emirates will suspend check-in for passengers departing from Dubai from 8am local time on Wednesday to midnight on Thursday due to "operational issues due to adverse weather and road conditions".
Dubai International Airport also said "flight delays and diversions continue" and advised people "not to come to the airport unless absolutely necessary".
The airline said it would continue processing passengers already in transit, but warned customers they should expect delays in departures and arrivals.
A stranded passenger told FRIDAY NEWS that after arriving on a flight from Hong Kong late Tuesday, he spent the night with hundreds of others at the airport because there was no transportation from the terminal.
"The airport is literally full and no one can go anywhere," said Bilal, 25, who wanted to give only his name.
According to weather forecasts at the airport, nearly 100 millimeters of rain fell in just 12 hours on Tuesday. This is equivalent to the amount of rainfall that Dubai typically receives in a year, according to the United Nations.
Videos on social media showed water rushing into a large shopping center and flooding the first floors of homes.
As a result, there is little rainfall and many regions have limited infrastructure such as drainage systems to cope with extreme events.
When it rained on Tuesday, it literally poured.
Due to anthropogenic climate change, such heavy rain disasters will become more frequent. As the atmosphere continues to warm, it can absorb more moisture like a towel and release it in the form of even heavier downpours.
The rain that submerged Dubai is linked to a larger storm system moving across the Arabian Peninsula and across the Gulf of Oman. The same system is also bringing unusually wet weather to neighboring Oman and southeastern Iran.
Rain is expected to ease across the region, but a few more showers are possible on Wednesday before drier weather returns.
