Dubai suffers from rain, and planes are forced to land on flooded runways; videos

Dubai’s main international airport diverted dozens of flights this Tuesday, as heavy rains ravaged the United Arab Emirates, causing widespread flooding across the country, in typically desert-like weather. The world’s busiest air hub for international passengers confirmed the suspension of arrivals at 7:26 pm local time (12:26 pm in Brasília) before announcing a “gradual resumption” more than two hours later.

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Earlier, the airport, which was expecting more than 100 flight arrivals on Tuesday night, took the equally unusual step of briefly halting its operations in the chaos caused by the storm. Dubai, the Middle East’s financial hub, was paralyzed by torrential rains that caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and left 18 people dead in Oman on Sunday and Monday.

Dubai airport operations were suspended for 25 minutes in the afternoon before resuming. Unconfirmed images on social media showed planes taxiing into an apron flooded with standing water. Departing flights remained in operation overnight but were affected by delays and cancellations. Access roads to the airport were also flooded.

Similar scenes were repeated in Dubai and elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates as the oil-rich Gulf state, best known for its arid climate and intense summer heat, recovered from the storm. Both Oman and the United Arab Emirates, which hosted last year’s UN climate talks COP28, have previously warned that global warming could lead to more flooding.

“It is highly likely that the deadly and destructive rains in Oman and Dubai were worsened by human-caused climate change,” said Otto, from the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London.

The Asian Champions League semi-final between Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, which was to be hosted in Al Ain, was postponed for 24 hours due to weather.

The main shopping centers Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates suffered flooding, and water reached ankle-deep in at least one Dubai Metro station, according to images posted on social media. Some roads collapsed, residential communities were hit by heavy flooding and many residents reported leaking roofs, doors and windows.

Schools have been closed in the UAE and are expected to remain closed on Wednesday, when further storms are forecast. The Dubai government has also extended remote working for its employees until Wednesday.

Some areas in the interior of the United Arab Emirates recorded more than 80 millimeters of rain during the 24 hours until 8 am (3 am in Brasília), approaching the annual average of around 100 mm. Bahrain, northwest of the United Arab Emirates, was also hit by heavy rain and flooding after being hit by thunder and lightning overnight.

“I like playing in the rain, but for the first time it scares me,” said nine-year-old Ali Hassan as he helped his mother drain water outside their home in Manama, Bahrain’s capital.

The storms hit the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and parts of Qatar after hitting Oman, where they caused deadly flooding and left dozens of people stranded. The body of a child was recovered on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 18, with two people missing, emergency officials told the official Oman News Agency.

Nine schoolchildren and three adults died when their vehicles were swept away by floodwaters, the news agency reported on Sunday.