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Heavy rains have hit the United Arab Emirates, flooding highways and disrupting flights at one of the world’s busiest airports. The government described it as the largest amount of rainfall in the past 75 years.
At least one person was killed, a 70-year-old man who police said was swept away in his car in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the country’s seven emirates.
Footage from Dubai international airport showed passenger jets moving through deep water, spraying water in their wake, while photos captured city streets turned to rivers, with cars sitting abandoned in flood waters.
Despite the widespread impact, authorities have remained tight-lipped on the extent of the damage.
The rains began on Monday night and by Tuesday evening more than 142mm (5.59in) had soaked the desert city of Dubai – normally the amount it gets in a year and a half.
Rain also fell in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but the precipitation was particularly significant in the UAE.
An average year sees 94.7mm (3.73in) of rain at Dubai international airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates, which said on Wednesday it had experienced “significant disruption”.
EgyptAir suspended flights between Cairo and Dubai until the conditions improve.
Desert city of Dubai floods as heaviest rainfall in 75 years hits UAE
City records more than 142mm of rain in a day, about as much as it expects in a year and a half, as highways and malls flooded
www.theguardian.com
