Dubai collapses under flooding after historic rains

Heavy rains hit the United Arab Emirates and the Persian Gulf region and caused floods that collapsed the city of Dubai in an unprecedented way. The desert city changed its appearance for a day and became a city surrounded by water, making it impossible to travel by car.

The images of the floods went viral on social networks. Especially those in which the city's international airport can be seen completely flooded. The port authorities had to cancel all check-ins for flights departing from Dubai. On the runways, planes could barely cab and were creating big waves as they passed over the runways.

On the city's streets, cars were also unable to circulate. The modern, almost futuristic city replete with neo-futuristic skyscrapers such as the Burj Khalifa and the Burj Al Arab, raised in the desert, turned into a swamp. Vehicles had to be abandoned on the roadway. On Tuesday, an accumulation of 5.59 inches of water was measured. This water is what, on average, Dubai receives in a year and a half, only this time it fell in a single day.

For these reasons, the city lacks the necessary infrastructure to cope with this amount of water. According to a local correspondent of The Guardian, many of the streets in the Emirati city do not have a sewer system for water drainage, due to a lack of necessity. When compared to a US city such as Dallas, Texas, which receives at least once every year similar amounts of rainfall to this event in Dubai, without causing a fraction of the damage.

The United Arab Emirates was not the only place in the Arabian Peninsula affected by these rains. In Oman and Bahrain, large amounts of water also fell. In Oman, according to AFP, at least 18 people died as a result of this episode of torrential rains.