Deadly rainstorms sweeping across the Persian Gulf have caused at least 21 fatalities and sown widespread disruption across the region. Included in that onslaught, the UAE’s Dubai International Airport, where day-to-day operations have been severely compromised and tempers are fraying.
The airport was effectively closed as the storms on Tuesday and Wednesday brought record rainfall of 259.5mm (10.2in). Beating all data going back to 1949, the unusual weather has caused commentators to speculate the UAE’s practice of cloud-seeding is to blame. But experts say the explanation is less complicated. Climate change means warmer air and warmer air holds more water – about 7% for every degree – meaning rain events become more intense.
In this instance, the storms flooded access roads and even areas of the world’s busiest aviation hub itself. Approximately 300 flights were cancelled and hundreds more delayed as a result, leaving many passengers stranded.
While inbound flights have resumed at the time of writing on 18 April, the airport is still experiencing operational problems, including ongoing flooding in surrounding roads, which are reported to be gridlocked with traffic trying to get to the airport. Terminal 3’s check-in facilities have been re-opened for flydubai and the airport’s biggest carrier, Emirates. However, long queues and delays are to be expected and with delayed flights and passengers still to clear, airport officials have pleaded with would-be flyers only to make their way to the airport if they have a confirmed booking.
Some passengers waiting for news of their flights at the airport have described “dangerous and inhumane” conditions at the airport, with “shouting and rioting” at information desks and a lack of staff and of refreshments. But with many would-be passengers still stuck in floods, with the waters rising and one elderly man washed away in his car, airport staff and other authorities say they are struggling to reach everyone. The airport’s head, Paul Griffiths, said the “incredibly challenging” conditions were like nothing “in living memory.”
Worse still, it’s not only the airport at risk. Roads to isolated communities have also been affected by the floods, people are stuck in homes and places of work, and supermarkets and offices are closed. In Oman, 1,400 people have been evacuated to schools and government buildings for their safety and the same is likely to follow in the UAE, where President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has initiated a review to check the country’s infrastructure in the wake of the storms and to support and if necessary, move victims to better shelter and safer locations. And, while there has been some let up in the weather, further storms are forecast.
