About four people have reportedly died from heavy rains earlier this week in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), authorities said on Friday as flooded roads clogged Dubai’s international airport.
The storm struck Oman over the weekend, killing at least 20 people, before hammering the UAE on Tuesday with the highest rainfall in 75 years.
The Philippines government in Manila reported that two women and one male perished in their vehicles during flooding.
A 70-year-old Emirati man was also killed after his vehicle was swept away by floods in the northern Ras Al Khaimah emirate.
SaharaReporters had also reported how several passengers were stranded as major flights were disrupted due to the heavy flood that hit the premises of Dubai International Airport in the UAE on Tuesday.
This was also seen in a viral video seen by SaharaReporters showing how several aircraft and passengers were struggling to move due to the heavy flood.
It was gathered that Dubai’s highways were clogged by floodwaters and passengers were urged to stay away from the airport as the glitzy financial centre reeled from record rains.
Several reports claimed that the country witnessed unprecedented rainfall with 254mm (10 inches) falling in Al Ain on Tuesday in less than 24 hours, according to the National Centre of Meteorology.
That was the most flooding since records began in 1949, before the country was established in 1971.
Scientists attribute increasingly frequent extreme weather occurrences, such as the rainfall in the UAE and Oman, to human-caused global warming.
Three days after the storm, Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports and a centre for Middle Eastern travel, was still trying to clear a backlog of flights.
It was limiting arrivals for two days, ending Sunday.
Emirates, one of the world’s largest international airlines, said check-in was suspended for passengers planning to transit via Dubai, but those with the city as a final destination may travel as usual.
