Heavy rains lash UAE and surrounding nations as the death toll in Oman flooding rises
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, flooding portions of major highways and leaving vehicles abandoned on roadways across Dubai. Meanwhile, the death toll in separate heavy flooding in neighboring Oman rose to 18, with others still missing as the sultanate prepared for the storm.
The rains began overnight, leaving massive ponds on streets as whipping winds disrupted flights at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and the home of the long-haul carrier Emirates. By the evening, over 120 millimeters (4.75 inches) of rainfall had soaked the city-state — the typical average for a year in the desert nation — with more expected in the coming hours.
Police and emergency personnel drove slowly through the flooded streets, their emergency lights flashing across the darkened morning. Lightning flashed across the sky, occasionally touching the tip of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
Schools across the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, largely shut ahead of the storm, and government employees were largely working remotely if they were able. Many workers stayed home as well, though some ventured out, with the unfortunate stalling out their vehicles in deeper-than-expected water covering some roads.
Authorities sent tanker trucks into the streets and highways to pump away the water. Water poured into some homes, forcing people to bail out their houses.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - APRIL 16: Vehicles hardly move on flooded streets due to heavy rain in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on April 16, 2024. The torrential rain in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), had a detrimental effect on daily life. Floo
Rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid Arabian Peninsula nation, but it occurs periodically during the cooler winter months. Given the lack of regular rainfall, many roads and other areas lack drainage, causing flooding. Rain also fell in Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
In neighboring Oman, a sultanate that rests on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, at least 18 people have been killed in heavy rains in recent days, according to a statement Tuesday from the country’s National Committee for Emergency Management. That includes some 10 schoolchildren swept away in a vehicle with an adult, which saw condolences come into the country from rulers across the region.