DUBAI: Dubai’s giant highways were clogged by flooding and airport passengers were urged to stay away on Wednesday as the glitzy financial centre reeled from record rains.
Official media said it was the highest rainfall since records began in 1949, before the formation of the UAE in 1971.
Dubai’s skies, usually electric blue and cloudless, darkened to night-like conditions in mid-afternoon on Tuesday as a second storm front blew in.
At the airport, long taxi queues formed and delayed passengers milled around. Scores of flights were also delayed, cancelled and diverted during Tuesday’s torrential rain.
Some pictures have stood out.
Cars drive in a flooded street following heavy rains in Dubai on April 17, 2024. Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, has been paralysed by the torrential rain that caused floods across the UAE and Bahrain and left 18 dead in Oman on April 14 and 15. Photo: AFP
Vehicles are stranded on a flooded street following torrential rain in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on April 16, 2024. Torrential rains and high winds lashed parts of the Gulf on April 16, as the death toll from storms in Oman rose to 18, many of them children. Flights were cancelled in Dubai, the region’s financial hub, while schools were shut in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Photo AFP)
Vehicles are parked in a flooded parking lot following torrential rain in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on April 16, 2024. Torrential rains and high winds lashed parts of the Gulf on April 16, as the death toll from storms in Oman rose to 18, many of them children. Flights were cancelled in Dubai, the region’s financial hub, while schools were shut in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Photo: AFP)
Vehicles are stranded on a flooded street following heavy rains in Dubai early on April 17, 2024. Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, has been paralysed by the torrential rain that caused floods across the UAE and Bahrain and left 18 dead in Oman on April 14 and 15. Photo:AFP
A car is left on a flooded street following heavy rains in Dubai early on April 17, 2024. Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, has been paralysed by the torrential rain that caused floods across the UAE and Bahrain and left 18 dead in Oman on April 14 and 15. Photo: AFP
In this video grab from AFPTV, a man wades through a flooded street in Dubai on April 16, 2024. Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, has been paralysed by the torrential rain that caused floods across the UAE and Bahrain and left 18 dead in Oman on April 14 and 15. Photo: AFP
Passengers wait for their flights at the Dubai International Airport in Dubai on April 17, 2024. Dubai’s major international airport diverted scores of incoming flights on April 16 as heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates, causing widespread flooding around the desert country. Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, has been paralysed by the torrential rain that caused floods across the UAE and Bahrain and left 18 dead in Oman on April 14 and 15. Photo: AFP
People walk during torrential rain in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on April 16, 2024. Torrential rains and high winds lashed parts of the Gulf on April 16, as the death toll from storms in Oman rose to 18, many of them children. Flights were cancelled in Dubai, the region’s financial hub, while schools were shut in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Photo: AFP
Passengers check flight information on screens at the Dubai International Airport in Dubai on April 17, 2024. Dubai’s major international airport diverted scores of incoming flights on April 16 as heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates, causing widespread flooding around the desert country. Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, has been paralysed by the torrential rain that caused floods across the UAE and Bahrain and left 18 dead in Oman on April 14 and 15. Photo AFP
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