Heavy rains lash Middle-East, Dubai, Oman flooded by torrential rain

Dubai, the Middle East's financial centre, has been paralysed by heavy rain and storm that has caused widespread flooding around the desert country.The record rainfall has resulted in delayed or diverted flights, while cars have been left stranded on flooded roads.Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, said it was facing significant disruptions after the rains delayed or diverted flights.

VIDEO | Visuals from Dubai as heavy rain lashes UAE flooding highways and international airport.

(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/BhAfW6gSKi

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 17, 2024

The United Arab Emirates witnessed unprecedented rainfall with 254mm (10 inches) falling in Al Ain on Tuesday in less than 24 hours, according to the National Centre of Meteorology. That was the most since records began in 1949, before the country was established in 1971.The storms hit the UAE and Bahrain overnight Monday and on Tuesday after lashing Oman, where 18 people were killed, including several children.Lightning flashed across the sky, occasionally touching the tip of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The city’s driverless Metro network also saw disruptions and flooding.

Fujairah, an emirate on the UAE’s eastern coast, saw the heaviest rainfall on Tuesday with 145mm (5.7 inches) falling there. Rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid, Arabian Peninsula nation, but it does occur periodically during the cooler winter months. Many roads and other areas lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall, causing flooding.

In Oman, a sultanate that rests on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, the country’s National Committee for Emergency Management said at least 18 people had been killed in heavy rains over the past few days. Among the dead were 10 schoolchildren who were swept away in a vehicle with an adult.

This isn't the Niagara Falls; it's Oman's Street! Oman's flooding is even worse than Dubai's. Keep Oman in your prayers. pic.twitter.com/Tkyf79tANj

— Abdul Quadir - عبدالقادر (@Northistan) April 17, 2024

Both Oman and the UAE, which hosted last year's COP28 UN climate talks, have previously warned that global warming is likely to lead to more flooding.Friederike Otto, a leader in the field of assessing the role of climate change on specific extreme weather events, said it was likely that global warming played a part in this week's rain."It is highly likely that the deadly and destructive rain in Oman and Dubai was made heavier by human-caused climate change," said Ms Otto, of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London.