Video: Unbelievable scenes after deadly Persian Gulf storm dumped two years' worth of rain in one day
A surreal video has been released from the Persian Gulf where historic rainstorms dumped two years' worth of rain in just one day. The video starts with a cat rescue and moves to Dubai Airport. There, when the plane was actually taxiing down the runway, it looked like it was flying over the ocean.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – The sun finally returned to the usually desert oasis of the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, giving residents a somber look at the deadly floods that have devastated cities and isolated villages in several countries.
Residents and schoolchildren in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, were ordered to work and learn from home for a second day. On Tuesday, the city received more than two years' worth of rain in just one day.
Ten inches of rain fell in just 24 hours in Al Ain, on the border with Oman, according to the UAE National Meteorological Center. This is a new record in the UAE's 75-year record-keeping.
Video: Cat clings to car door during Dubai floods and is pulled out by rescuers
An abandoned ambulance is flooded on a highway after a rainstorm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Christopher Pike/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Emirates has warned passengers to avoid Dubai International Airport until Thursday. The world's second-busiest airport tops FlightAware's list of cancellations and delays. On Tuesday, about a quarter of flights were canceled, more than half were delayed, and airports diverted arriving flights.
Incredible footage taken from the window of a jet plane appears to have been taken while the plane was flying over the ocean. But the plane, along with countless other planes, was on a tarmac surrounded by floodwaters.
The plane isn't flying over water, but over Dubai's runway, which has been flooded by record rainfall. (Zahir Kunas/FOX Weather)
“There are hundreds of thousands of passengers just like me at this airport, waiting for 10, 16, sometimes 24 to 30 hours,” the man, who was in transit from Paris to Kolkata, told Reuters. There are some people who are waiting for the time,” he said. . “It's not raining outside. It's sunny. It's sunny. The water level is falling.”
News agency i24 reported that the airport is a popular transit point for Israelis who started their Passover holidays early.
Countless photos showed residents walking down the street, accustomed to only 3.16 inches of rain a year. Abandoned vehicles covered in mud were scattered on roads and highways that were still flooded. Some roads collapsed under the weight and stress.
Dubai floods hit by first rain in two years in one day, orders to stay at home
A man has died after his car was swept off the road in the UAE, Reuters reported.
According to the Associated Press, Iran lost two people. Iranian emergency managers reported that another person was killed by a lightning strike.
“The devastating floods not only had an economic impact on the region, but also killed many people,” a social worker told Reuters about the past three days of flooding. “The floods have killed animals and destroyed crops. There are still many people who cannot go to safety, so we call on the government and Rescue 1122 to come to their rescue immediately.”
Floods killed 18 people in Oman. Nine of the children were children whose teachers were trapped in a school bus that was swept off the road and killed.
School bus washed away in Oman floods, 10 killed
Royal Oman Police conduct water rescue during deadly floods
At least 18 people have been killed in flash floods in Oman this week, with the Royal Police carrying out search and rescue operations. These videos show water rescues in high water. (Video Oman Royal Police)
The National Emergency Management Center announced Wednesday that crews had completed the search for the missing people.
Bahrain closed schools for the rest of this week after devastating flooding.
The clouds have cleared, but flooding continues across Bahrain. (Ahmed Ramazan/AFP, Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)
The weather forecast is sunny for most of the country, but Iran's Meteorological Department warned of the possibility of more rain later in the week following the sandstorm. The agency also warned of possible evacuations due to flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas, as the ground is already saturated.
Floods have killed at least 53 people and injured another 50 in Pakistan, according to a report by the United Nations Relief Web. More than 1,400 homes were damaged and more than 200 livestock were killed. Heavy rains also halted the wheat harvest, causing damage to the crops.
