A video released on social networks showed how the storm that unleashed was formed unprecedented floods in Dubai, causing chaos in its ultra-modern urbanizations and in the busiest airport in the world. This audiovisual document shows the process by which the unusual torrential rains hit the city, leaving behind a landscape of destruction and alterations in the daily lives of its inhabitants.
Rainfall reached 254 millimeters, a figure the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would normally receive in a year and a half. Such a volume of rain generated monumental traffic jams on six-lane highways, evidence of the severe impact on the city’s infrastructure. As a direct consequence of this catastrophe, the police reported the death of a 70-year-old man in Ras Al Khaimah.
Rains of such magnitude had not been recorded in the region since 1949, marking this event as historic, even before the formation of the Emirates in 1971. The situation led the authorities to issue recommendations to passengers to avoid traveling to Dubai airport. , known for being the busiest in the world, due to flight delays and detours of some of them.
Although the main effects of the storm have already passed, government teams on the ground continue intense efforts to deal with the consequences on the Emirati streets, according to the news agency. EFE.
The storm, which began its destructive path on Monday night, not only affected the Emirates but also Bahrain, after having left a balance of 18 dead in Oman. Climatologist Friederike Otto, a specialist in evaluating the impact of climate change on extreme weather events, reported that it is “very likely” that the storm conditions were aggravated by the global warming.
Bahrain also broke a 30-year rainfall record with the heavy rains recorded this past Monday and Tuesday, with almost 100 mm of water, reported the head of the meteorological directorate, Khalid Yaseen, in a statement distributed by the official Bahrain news agency (BNA).
Flooding also occurred in Qatar with unstable weather conditions during the last 36 hours, especially in the north of the country, where strong storm winds and rain were recorded.
The Qatari authorities announced that both work and classes would be remote while the storm lasted, although they excluded from this action employees in sectors that require presence at the workplace.
The Qatar Meteorological Authority announced this Wednesday that weather conditions have improved, while its Emirati counterpart announced the end of the storm in all the country.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
