Advertisement
Dubai: Torrential rain flooded roads, homes and malls and briefly halted operations at Dubai’s airport as storms lashed the Gulf on Tuesday, after leaving at least 18 dead in Oman. The country’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority asked all residents to “stay at home,” only “leaving in cases of extreme necessity.” Authorities also ordered all schools to operate online and commuters to work from home.
Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, was paralysed by the heavy storms that caused widespread flooding around the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Flagship shopping centres Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both suffered flooding and water was ankle-deep at at least one Dubai Metro station.
Roads and residential communities also suffered heavy flooding in scenes repeated around the oil-rich Emirates, a desert country where rain is an unusual event.
Schools were shut across the UAE and were expected to remain closed on Wednesday, when further storms, including hail, are forecast.
Dubai airport, the world’s busiest international hub measured by passenger traffic, suspended operations for 25 minutes and cancelled more than 50 flights.
Unconfirmed images on social media showed planes taxiing across an apron flooded with deep standing water.
A purported video showing planes taxiing across a tarmac flooded with deep-standing water has gone viral on social media platforms.
Earlier on Tuesday, operations at the airport were suspended for 25 minutes.
As the adverse weather conditions continued, the Dubai International Airport temporarily diverted arriving flights.
Shopping centres and malls also suffered due to the unusual weather in the country. A video purportedly showing the damage caused by the heavy rain has gone viral on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, schools across the UAE have been shut down due to the impending storm.
The police had issued a prior advisory, warning residents about the adverse weather conditions that were to lash the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE’s weather department had further warned stating that from Tuesday afternoon to early Wednesday morning (April 17), another wave of unstable weather was expected to begin from Western areas and spread across scattered areas of the country.
