It rained a year's worth of rain in Dubai and massive flash floods were triggered on Tuesday (16) as streets turned into rivers and rushing water flooded homes and businesses.
Shocking video showed the runway at Dubai International Airport – recently crowned the world's second busiest airport – underwater as huge aircraft tried to navigate flood waters.
The large jets looked like boats moving through the flooded airport as water splashed in their wake and formed waves in the deep water areas.
The disruption to airport operations continued until Wednesday (17), with access roads blocked by floods and several airlines, including carrier Emirates, reporting flight delays.
شاهد.. ارتفاع منسوب المياه بمطار #دبي#منخفض_الهدير pic.twitter.com/8gswSzbJKJ
— العربية الإمارات (@AlArabiyaUAE) April 16, 2024
Low-cost airline Flydubai canceled all flights until 10am local time on Wednesday.
Emirates is suspending check-in for passengers departing Dubai from 8am local time on Wednesday until midnight on Thursday (18) due to “operational challenges caused by poor weather and conditions of the roads.”
Dubai International Airport also advised people to “NOT come to the airport unless absolutely necessary” and said “flights continue to be delayed and diverted”.
The airline said passengers already in transit will continue to arrive, but warned that customers can expect delays in departures and arrivals.
A stranded passenger told the CNN who spent the night at the airport with hundreds of other people after arriving from Hong Kong on Tuesday night because there were no transportation options outside the terminal.

“The airport is literally full and there is nowhere to go,” said Bilal, 25, who only wanted to be identified by his first name.
Nearly 100 millimeters of rain fell in just 12 hours on Tuesday, according to meteorological observations at the airport – about what Dubai typically sees in an entire year, according to United Nations data.
The rain fell so hard and so quickly that some drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles as floodwaters rose and roads turned into rivers.
A video on social media showed water rushing through a large shopping mall and flooding the ground floors of houses.
Like the rest of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai has a hot and dry climate. As such, rainfall is infrequent and in many areas infrastructure, such as drainage, is limited to deal with extreme events.
mall of emirates pic.twitter.com/7HQApwBcmb
—Charles Read (@chatwithcharles) April 16, 2024
When the rain fell on Tuesday, it really rained. Torrential rain events like this will become more frequent due to man-made climate change.
As the atmosphere continues to warm, it is able to absorb more moisture like a towel and then expel it in the form of more extreme bursts of torrential rain.
The rain that flooded Dubai is associated with a larger storm system that passes through the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf of Oman. This same system is also bringing exceptionally wet weather to neighboring Oman and southeastern Iran.
The rain is expected to ease in the region, but could still persist on Wednesday, before dry weather returns.
*With information from Teele Rebane and Kathleen Magramo, from CNN.
Source: CNN Brasil

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