The desert climate country of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced the heaviest rains ever recorded there that flooded the Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airfield for international travel had to interrupt its flights. According to the official Emirati news agency WAM, this was the highest rainfall in the country in the last 75 years, surpassing all records since the Emirates began collecting rainfall data in 1949. It also rained in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
However, the torrential rains were especially intense throughout the United Arab Emirates, where it rained in one day as much as it rains in a year and a half in the country. The floods caused one death and extensive damage to public and private infrastructure, official sources reported this Wednesday.
The rains began Monday night, drenching Dubai's sands and roads with about 20 mm of rain, according to weather data collected at the city's International Airport. The storms intensified around 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday and continued throughout the day.
By the end of Tuesday, more than 142mm of rain had drenched Dubai for 24 hours. In an average year, it rains 94.7 mm at the city's international airport, home of the long-haul airline Emirates. At the airport, standing water covered the landing strips. Arrivals were suspended on Tuesday night and passengers had problems reaching the terminals through water covering the runways and approaches.
The Police of the southern emirate of Ras al Khaimah announced in a statement the death of a septuagenarian whose vehicle was swept away by heavy rains while traveling through a valley in this desert region of the country, particularly affected by floods.
According to the National Center of Meteorology (CNM), the flood is "an exceptional event in the climatic history of the UAE", the peak of which was recorded in the emirate of Al Ain, where rainfall reached 254 mm of rain in less than 24 hours. .
Despite the extensive damage caused by the floods, the CNM celebrated that the heavy rains "contribute to increasing the average annual rainfall in the UAE, as well as strengthening the country's groundwater reserves." Many citizens shared various videos and photographs of the airport, roads and shopping centers through social networks. The majority seemed to celebrate the unusual event.
The United Arab Emirates, which relies heavily on energy-intensive desalination plants to supply water, is carrying out so-called "cloud seeding" in part to boost its dwindling and limited groundwater. This technique involves small planes piloted by the government flying through clouds, burning salt flares. These flares can increase precipitation. Some international media pointed out this practice as a possible cause of the unexpected phenomenon, although no official source has confirmed it. According to CNM reports, several flights were made before the rains, including one on Sunday.
Much of the Arabian Peninsula has been affected by a strong storm that originated in Oman, where at least 19 people have died due to flooding, the vast majority of them children. The Omani Police said this Wednesday that the latest victim is a girl of Asian nationality whose body was found in a valley in the state of Saham, in northern Oman.
