Roads turned into rivers and water flooded in torrents into buildings as rain equivalent to a year’s rainfall triggered flash floods in Dubai on Tuesday.
It reports, among others CNNwho can tell that planes looked like boats as they (tentatively) moved through the floodwaters at the world‘s second busiest airport, Dubai International Airport.
According to Reuters, all flights out of Dubai are now canceled until tomorrow.
BAD: Rain, lightning, thunder and flooding hit Dubai and caused the authorities to issue several warnings on Tuesday. Photo: Jules Annan / Backrid / NTB Show more
The violent storm naturally affected both rich and poor. Dubai has plenty of both.
One of those who belong to the latter group is the multi-billionaire Rizwan Sajan, founder of the entrepreneurial giant Danube group.
Real estate giant
He followed the authorities’ call to leave the car and rather choose the subway, if you could not take a home office.
STOP: Here, but no further, these vehicles came when Dubai received rainfall equivalent to an entire year in the space of 12 hours on Tuesday. Photo: Amr Alfiky / Reuters / NTB Show more
The video clip that Sajan posted on Instagram of his sensational trip currently has close to 7,000 likes and was also picked up by the English-language Dubai newspaper Khaleej Times.
– When you have the will, you always find a solution. I went to the office by metro because of the massive rain, says the billionaire.
According to Khaleej Times, the Danube group was behind property investments worth 2.7 billion dollars (close to 30 billion Norwegian kroner) in Dubai last year.
Luxury stores hit
Swiss Vanessa (with one n there that is, 29) states to the newspaper Blick that she and the traveling party were looking forward to sunny days, but instead experienced apocalyptic scenes in Dubai.
WET AND ABANDONED: Several vehicles were simply abandoned on the roads when the heavy rains hit Dubai on Tuesday. Photo: Jon Gambrell / AP/NTB Show more
– There is an extreme amount of rain and lightning and a massive flood. The whole of Dubai is under water, says Vanessa, who adds that the Dubai Mall shopping center is partially under water and that well-known luxury stores such as Fendi and Chanel are desperately working to keep the floodwater out.
Major storms
Close to 100 millimeters of rain reportedly fell within 12 hours on Tuesday. Which, according to UN data, corresponds to the amount of rainfall Dubai normally receives during an entire year, according to CNN.
FLOODING: Normally dry Dubai does not have the infrastructure to deal with extreme rain. Thus, flooding cannot be avoided. Photo: Amr Aliky / Reuters / NTB Show more
This caused the water bodies to rise so quickly that people abandoned their cars as they could only watch as the roads turned into rivers.
Dubai, like the rest of the Emirates, mostly has a warm and dry climate. Thus, the infrastructure is also not in place to handle huge amounts of rainfall in a short time. The result is a flash flood.
Oman and south-eastern Iran have also been affected by the storm which is moving across the Arabian Peninsula. According to Blick, 18 people have died and two are missing in Oman as a result of the storm.