Unusually heavy rains hit the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday, causing flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Cars are abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai.
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Unusually heavy rains hit the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday, causing flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Cars are abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai.
François Nell/Getty Images
DUBAI — Schools and businesses are closed across the United Arab Emirates after a year's worth of rain fell in one day.
Floods also disrupted travel at Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airport for international travel.
Videos posted online showed luxury cars stranded on Dubai's flooded streets as residents swept rainwater from their homes after the city's record-breaking downpours led to flooding since data collection began 75 years ago. That was long before the country was founded.
Luxury stores in Dubai were also not spared the damage from rainwater pouring down the mall ceiling. At Dubai's main airport, runways were flooded and flagship airline Emirates suspended all departing flights on Wednesday. region gulf news More than 1,200 flights were reported canceled due to Tuesday's storm. The airport is expected to be fully operational by Friday.
The city, known for its year-round sunny weather and beaches, saw some sunshine later this week, but schools were still far away due to road closures.
The UAE's state news agency said the rains had increased the country's groundwater reserves, despite causing some damage to cars, homes and roads.
Heavy rains have killed more than 20 people this week in neighboring Oman, including 10 children who were swept away by a car on their way home from school on Monday, Omani state media reported.
A parking lot in Dubai was flooded on Thursday.
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Passengers line up at the flight connection desk at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday. Dubai's main airport redirected incoming flights on Tuesday as heavy rains pounded the United Arab Emirates (UAE), causing widespread flooding across the country.
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Cars drive on a flooded street after heavy rain in Dubai on Wednesday. Heavy rains have caused flooding across the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.
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A man walks along a road barrier on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road amid flooding caused by heavy rain on Thursday.
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A tanker truck is abandoned in floodwaters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday (local time). The United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out on Thursday after the heaviest rains the desert nation has ever experienced. Floods have submerged Dubai International Airport and disrupted international travel flights through the world's busiest airfield.
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John Gambrell/AP
People wait for transport on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road on Thursday.
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Cars are abandoned as floods engulf Dubai's main roads on Wednesday.
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John Gambrell/AP