Dhaka, বৃহস্পতিবার, ডিসেম্বর ১৯, ২০২৪
logo

Dubai witnessed the highest rainfall in 75 years


Mohin Talukder   প্রকাশিত:  ১৯ ডিসেম্বর, ২০২৪, ০৬:০২ এএম

Dubai witnessed the highest rainfall in 75 years

The rains have been so heavy that roads have been submerged, cars have been washed away, and shopping malls have also been submerged. Somewhere the highway has broken and created a huge hole. Along with the cancellation of flights, metro station operations have also stopped. People in the desert country of UAE have not seen such rainfall since 1949.

The torrential rains from Monday night to Tuesday night surpassed all previous records. World Bank's Climate Change Knowledge Portal data says that the average annual rainfall in the United Arab Emirates is 140 to 200 millimeters. There, the meteorological authority recorded 254 millimeters of rain in less than 24 hours in Khatam Al Shakla area of Al Ain city in the Middle East.

Dubai International Airport receives an average annual rainfall of 94.7 mm. But in 24 hours, Dubai received 142 mm of rain. Heavy rainfall is rare in the desert country of the United Arab Emirates. According to the country's National Center of Meteorology, more than 50 weather stations recorded more than 100 millimeters of rain in a single day. Of these, four stations recorded more than 200 mm of rainfall.

Heavy rains from Monday night to 9pm on Tuesday flooded Dubai's roads and airport taxi lanes. Air traffic has to be suspended due to rain. The check-in process of passengers arriving at the airport is also suspended.

In the pictures and videos of those incidents, more than two hundred passengers are stuck inside the Jebel Ali metro station in Dubai. They sat for hours inside the station and on the stairs, waiting for the situation to become somewhat normal.

One of the passengers, Mohammad Kashan, was stuck at the station for eight hours due to the rain. “It is not yet clear when the metro service will resume. I came to Jebel Ali for work. Bur was hoping to catch a train back home to Dubai. But I got stuck. There are no taxis around.”

A 40-year-old man has died after a car swept away on a road in Ras Al Khaimah due to rain, police in the United Arab Emirates said.

Water has also entered residential buildings in various areas of Sharjah and Dubai. Electricity and internet connection has also been cut off. Heavy rains across the country have led to flooding in the city. Some residential buildings in Al Majaz area of Sharjah lost electricity and internet connection from 3 pm local time on Tuesday. Rainwater also entered the elevator.

Umm Al Aiman, a resident of Sharjah, told Khaleej Times, “There has been no electricity in our building since 3 am. No internet connection at the moment. Luckily I kept a bucket of water after the power went out. Now there is no water connection.

“I can't even get out because the whole area is submerged. Earlier, if there was no electricity, I used to go to a shopping mall or somewhere else by car. Now there is no chance. There is a hypermarket 50 meters away, but I can't go there either. The entire road is submerged. I can't even see the sidewalk."

Bus services have been suspended in various parts of the UAE due to road inundation. In Al Kua area of Al Ain city, the water stream broke the highway and created a huge hole. The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority said on social media that metro rail services from Abu Hail station to Gold Souk station were disrupted due to adverse weather conditions. Bus service has been arranged for the passengers.

The country's Central Meteorological Department has issued a new weather warning after heavy rainfall for 24 hours. The authorities have issued an 'Orange Alert' after lowering the 'Red Alert'. People have been asked to move carefully in the affected areas.