Dubai experiences 1.5 years' rainfall in few hours, several parts of desert-city flooded. Videos

Several residents of Dubai took to X to share videos of flooding all over the city. (Image: X)

The desert-city of Dubai experienced an unusual start to the week as heavy rainfall lashed parts several parts of the city and other areas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well. According to local news agencies and the weather department, the sudden rainstorms that drenched UAE dumped over a year-and-half worth’s rainfall on Dubai in just a few hours.

Several residents of Dubai took to Xto share videos of flooding all over the city. From roads to luxury shopping malls, many major areas of the desert-city saw waterlogging. Shoppers who were trapped inside malls were shocked to see water gushing from the ceiling and parts of the ceiling breaking down.

These visuals are from Dubai Mall. No development can fight with nature. Nature is almighty pic.twitter.com/qhg15P0kco

— April 17, 2024

Severe storm and heavy rain brings flooding to parts of Dubai, including the Dubai Mall. pic.twitter.com/YLDLN6EcMG — Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 17, 2024

#DubaiFlooding#Dubai#Dubaifloodspic.twitter.com/ITa8nBU8BC — K k k Kiran (@kkkKiran0) April 17, 2024

The Dubai International Airport (DXB), one of the busiest airports in the world, was absolutely soaked and as water filled the runway, tarmac and even the taxiways. According to a post shared by the official account of DXB, all inbound flights due to arrive on Tuesday were diverted due to the torrential rain. Flights departing from Dubai carried on as usual.

Big rain and loud storms hit UAE and make floods in #Dubai. Cars are stuck on the roads because of it. This is how betraying #Palestine looks like.#dubairain#DubaiFlooding#Israel#DubaiAirport#DubaiStorm#Iranpic.twitter.com/AhoFnKGuuy — April 17, 2024

This is what happens when you build a city where you need cars to go everywhere, focused on malls and condos instead of drains or green space, and leaders don't care about climate change https://t.co/Azc6ii0ipJpic.twitter.com/OndU3DdK74

— Peppermint Goat (@ShuckMyBhauls) April 16, 2024

Clips of lightning striking the tip of Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building, also went insanely viral on the internet. A video showing a timelapse of the massive storm that caused major flooding in the city also surfaced online.

Dubai: Timelapse of the massive storm that caused a historic flood. pic.twitter.com/1VSGClQENi — Ashish Kumar (@BaapofOption) April 17, 2024

This was a pretty intense sight watching the storm over Dubai today. pic.twitter.com/QdDSp9pKhU

— Gary Gensler (Parody) (@GaryGenslerMeme) April 17, 2024

By the end of Tuesday, Dubai received more than 142 millimetres (5.59 inches) of rainfall over 24 hours. of rainfall over a period of 24 hours. The emirate experiences 94.7 millimetres (3.73 inches) of rainfall in an average year, as per data from the Dubai International Airport.

Meanwhile, Fujairah, an emirate on the UAE's eastern coast, saw the heaviest rainfall on Tuesday. Schools were largely shut across the UAE and offices granted work-from-home to employees on Wednesday. Heavy rainfall also lashed Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

In neighbouring Oman, heavy downpour in the past few days has resulted in the death of at least 18 people, a statement by the country's National Committee for Emergency Management said.

According to reports, this is the largest rainfall incident to affect the country in the past 75 years.