If Dubai is the ultimate Instagram city, then this was the week the filter came off.
Over an unprecedented 48 hours, the skies over the United Arab Emirates darkened and torrential storms washed away Dubai’s picture-perfect image.
About 25cm (10in) of rain – roughly twice the UAE’s yearly average – fell in a single day, leaving much of the city’s outdoor infrastructure under water.
Jordache Ruffels, a British expat living in Dubai, told UAE Breaking News experiencing the storms was like “living through the apocalypse”.
He watched from his apartment overlooking the city’s usually tranquil marina as furniture was flung from balconies by gale-force winds and Rolls Royce cars were abandoned on roads suddenly transformed into rivers.
“We live high up and could barely see anything beyond our balcony…It was like midnight in the middle of the day,” he said.
Four large storms came together, each rising 15 kilometers (9 miles) into the atmosphere and hitting the United Arab Emirates one after another with a powerful jet stream, uae Breaking weather forecasters said.
Heavy rains are common across the Gulf desert region and residents were warned through public warning systems, but Dubai’s weather infrastructure was unprepared for the worst rains since 1949. Ta.
In many ways, few modern cities have been able to withstand the scale of the floods that hit Dubai this week.
The city’s major tourist attractions, mostly indoors to protect themselves from the scorching heat, struggled to cope with the sudden influx of water.
Caroline Schubert, 29, from the UK, was at the shopping center with her husband when the storm hit.
“The mall was flooded and the ceiling was collapsing,” she said. “We were told to leave, but the subway was closed and there were no taxis running.”
“We were stranded and had to sleep in the lobby of a shopping center for the night.
Matt Weir, a British teacher who has lived in Dubai for 10 years, said: People knew the storm was coming, but it was strong.” Leaving Flooded areas” .
Next week’s weather forecast looks blue and sunny, but storms are still a possibility, and with roads and other infrastructure still crippled, Dubai’s rulers are counting the costs. Masu.
UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Nahyan has given official instructions to authorities to “investigate the situation of infrastructure across the UAE and work quickly to minimize damage.
” I put it out. Government employees were ordered to work from home through the weekend, and private companies were encouraged to do the same. Schools were closed across the country.
So far, the official death toll in the United Arab Emirates stands at just one elderly man, who died after his car was swept away in Ras Al Khaimah, according to local media.
One of the worst disruptions occurred at Dubai International Airport, the world’s second-largest airport, where almost 90 million people, more than the population of Germany, are expected to pass through in 2024.
It is a major hub for trips to the Gulf and connecting flights further afield, but witnesses say there has been chaos after the floods.
Because the runway was flooded, planes were unable to reach the runway and passengers were stranded in the terminal building.
The country’s national airline, Emirates, has been forced to completely stop accepting passengers for check-in. Check-in has now resumed, but many passengers are “still waiting for their flights.”
Jo Reilly is among the travellers left in limbo. The 41-year-old was flying back to the UK from Vietnam via Dubai with her daughters Holly, 13, and Ruby, nine, when the storm struck.
After two-and-a-half hours circling over the Gulf waiting for a chance to land, they eventually landed at another Dubai airport, before being told in the middle of the night to get on a bus to head for their original destination.
She told UAE Breaking News her daughters “were practically crushed in a stampede as hundreds of desperate people were fighting for a seat on the coach”.
Once they eventually reached Dubai International Airport, the situation was no better. Jo said: “We asked can we have water, can we have food? Nothing. There’s nothing here. People are really, really in a bad way.
“We’ve been told it’s Sunday night the earliest we can get home and apparently we’re quite lucky to have that option.
“Emirates are saying there are no hotel rooms so I said, ‘Oh, so we’re just to carry on sleeping on the floor?’ And they said, ‘Yes, go make yourself comfortable over there’ and pointed to the corner of the check-in area.”
Jo Reilly said her children had to sleep on the floor at the airport as there were no hotel rooms
Jonathan Finchett, also from the UK, described “apocalyptic” scenes in the airport, where people were arriving to find their flights had been cancelled.
He told UAE Breaking News he saw families “barricading themselves behind a circle of luggage trolleys to keep themselves safe because they didn’t feel that safe because there was absolutely no staff”.
Queues at ticket desks were “pure chaos”, he said, adding: “There were hundreds of people stampeding towards this, like a crush. All of a sudden you had women screaming saying they couldn’t breathe.”
Emirates acknowledged “how difficult the situation is for everyone affected” and said flight schedules would return to normal.
Dubai International Airport commented on the current situation: “We have been providing the necessary assistance and amenities to affected guests to the extent possible, but due to road closures this is taking longer than expected.” Did. The city’s Jordash Ruffels said the situation was “virtually back to normal” after swift intervention by authorities. “At times like this, there is a sense of togetherness and togetherness,” he added.
A storm struck Dubai, home to 3.5 million people, unrecognizable to the 100,000 residents who called it home in the 1970s, before the oil boom.
There is also an influx of 14 million tourists a year, including influencers and celebrities seeking luxury hotels and glamorous surroundings (British reality TV stars Joey Essex and James Argent also disrupt (I’m one of the people influenced by this.)
Its modern image comes with strong regulatory and political control over media content, and even foreign publications may be censored before distribution.
Some Dubai residents the UAE spoke to in recent days asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions.
Matthew Hedges is an academic and author of books about the UAE. In 2018, he was arrested on suspicion of espionage, where he was tortured.
He told UAE News that he has spoken to UAE residents who are angry about the lack of preparedness for these floods and who know that extreme weather is a long-term problem facing the country.
Mr. Hedges continued: “They have no way to raise their concerns legally and safely. If they do, they will be punished and repressed.”
, said they were also concerned about the country’s poor migrant workers, who are likely to be more affected by these climate changes.
He further added: “It will not be the Emiratis who will suffer. They have jobs where they can work from home and drive SUVs. It will be the foreign workers, the blue-collar workers, who will suffer.”