The storm dumped the most rain in the world in the United Arab Emirates
“It’s an absolute carnage,” a couple says of the flooding incident in Oman’s southern sultanate
According to the country’s National Committee for Emergency Management, at least 18 people have been killed in recent days in the sultanate of Oman, which rests on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. That includes some 10 schoolchildren swept away in a vehicle with an adult, which saw condolences come into the country from rulers across the region.
There is a city underwater. There are shocking scenes on social media due to the heavy storms that caused flash flooding. Cars abandoned by the roadside, planes sloshing through flooded runways. Hundreds of flights have been canceled at Dubai’s busy international airport, and at least 18 people have died in neighboring Oman.
At the airport, standing water lapped on taxiways as aircraft landed. The airport halted arrivals Tuesday night due to the flooding, and passengers couldn’t travel to their flights through the water.
The situation at the airport was so bad that one couple called it an “absolute carnage.” The couple spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity.
Witnesses of a flood in Ras al-Khaimah, the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates
They ended up getting a taxi to near their home some 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, but floodwater on the road stopped them. A bystander gave them carry on luggage, bottles of gin they picked up from duty free, and helped them over a highway barrier.
The flooding left limited transportation options and affected flights at the airport.
“Recovery will take some time,” the airport said on the social platform X. “We thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through these challenges.”
Emergency personnel were driving through the flooded streets of a city. There was an occasional glimpse of lightening in the sky, which occasionally hit the tip of the Burj Khalifa. The city’s driverless Metro saw disruptions and flooded stations as well.
The seven sheikhdoms of the United Arab Dynasties of Arabia were mostly shut down before the storm and the government employees were mostly telecommuting. Many workers stayed home and some decided to go out, but their vehicles were stuck in the water and they couldn’t go.
The tanker trucks were sent to get rid of the water. Water poured into some homes, forcing people to bail out their houses.
As some people slept in their flooded vehicles Tuesday night, the country’s rulers didn’t offer an overall damage or injury report. In Ras al-Khaimah, the country’s northernmost emirate, police said one 70-year-old man died when his vehicle was swept away by floodwater.
Source: Storm dumps heaviest rain ever recorded in the United Arab Emirates
Why cloud seeding couldn’t produce rain in Oman during the Mauritania and Dubai storms? The story of the WAM event
The rain was called a historic weather event by the WAM news agency. Before the discovery of crude oil in this energy-rich nation, it was part of a British protectate known as the Trucial States.
Secondly, seeding operations tend to take place in the east of the country, far from more populated areas like Dubai. This is largely because of restrictions on air traffic, but means that it was unlikely that any seeding particles were still active by the time the storms reached Dubai. Most of the scientists I’ve spoken to say the impact of cloud seeding has a very small, localized effect and is unlikely to cause flooding in other areas. But perhaps the best evidence that cloud seeding wasn’t involved in these floods is the fact that it rained all over the region. Oman didn’t do any cloud seeding, but it was even more badly affected by flooding, with a number of casualties.
There are a few reasons for this. Clouds can increase precipitation by as much as 25 percent annually, according to the most optimistic assessments. In other words, it would have rained anyway, and if cloud seeding did have an impact, it would only have been to slightly increase the amount of precipitation that fell. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of cloud seeding in warm climates, and even if it does work, cloud seeding can’t produce rain out of thin air, it can only enhance what’s already in the sky.
As many as 18 people have been killed in Oman after heavy monsoon rains and thunderstorms hit the sultanate. The floods have disrupted air traffic across the region, with hundreds of flights being cancelled at Dubai’s international Airport. The UAE government said it has deployed several teams to assist Oman in rescue and relief operations.