24-Hour of Rain, A Day of Chaos, A Testament to Resilience – Dubai Flood April 2024
April 16, 2024: The dazzling metropolis – Dubai, known for its man-made wonders on desert landscapes with a picture-perfect image; faced an unforeseen challenge – a downpour of unprecedented proportions. Dubai generally receives 94 mm of total rainfall in 1 year (365 days), whereas on April 16, 2024; Dubai saw a downpour of 250 mm within 24 hours. The almost 24-hour-long torrential rain started off as a beautiful spectacle for residents to behold, which transformed the whole city into chaos of raging torrents, by the evening. Whereas floods have definitely caused inconveniences, however, having an advanced and resilient infrastructure, as well as the indomitable will of the residents, made the recovery from this disaster even more impressive and quicker.
Dubai Flood: A City Transformed: Streets to Rivers, Airports to Oceans
As as the day progressed, the rain showed no sign to stop, and there was no possibility of draining off the surplus water, consequently turning airports into what looked like an ocean, and roads into rivers. Socials found the way to the whole world very fast as they made photos and videos of flooded roads, canals, tunnels; and just water everywhere and these media, unsurprisingly, went viral.
Dubai International airport cancellations were widespread, with 1,244 flights being cancelled just over two days and 61 flights diverted due to bad weather. On Thursday morning, the airport resumed partial operations out of Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 after the operational disruption caused due to flooding. Dubai International airport cancellations were widespread, a large crowd had a mixture of being martyrdom, getting their holidays spoiled, being stuck for uncertain hours at the airport, and last but not least, mammoth losses.
Authorities canceled school and the government instituted remote work again for Wednesday. Although there has been no official report of casualties in Dubai, residential building basement parking areas got flooded, resulting into total loss of many vehicles and electricity shut downs. Many villas had their ground floor flooded. Cars were left stranded on the roads and the largest and fanciest malls in the world received a distasteful experience of water leakage into their stores.
Recovery from Dubai Flood: A City United in the Face of Deluge
The government of the UAE opted for fast acting measures in the extraordinary situation. In spite of the massive turmoil and cloudiness, the city’s well-structured administration showed its steel by the end. In addition to the rescuers and medics of the UAE Civil Defense, volunteers were engaged around the clock for the purpose of helping those in need. In Sharjah, 600 employees and 670 water tanker trucks and pumps from the Sharjah Metropolis Office were deployed to drain rainwater. Regardless of whether it involved police, civil defense, municipality, transport, education, health or other regulators, the responsible officials proved that they were ready to take duty beyond their call of duty to attend to the emergency. Authorities sent tanker trucks out into the streets and highways to pump away the water. An emergency takeoff became inevitable as the first responders jumped into action, lifting to safety the stranded residents and motorists. Communities came together to support each other, demonstrating the spirit of cooperation that defines the city. Local businesses offered discounts and assistance to those affected by the floods.
Schools and Government/Private offices were officially closed on Wednesday, most of the offices turning into remote-work model. The city’s metro (subway) was not fully operational up until Friday, April 19, 2024. This allowed companies and employees to resort to the work from home option.
Dubai’s Drainage Upgrade Plan – A Hundred Years of Sewer
The UAE city’s Executive Council Chairman, Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, approved the plan in June 2023, with a total budget of AED84 billion for sewage infrastructure. Moreover, next to the plan on updating the drainage network, this ambitious project also helps to achieve a 10% reduction in carbon footprint together with the goals of the circular economy in terms of resource management. This means that the period in which the sewerage system will essentially last is increased, from 25 years to a full 100 years, which does ensure the operation efficiencies and long-term sustainability. Within days, the city began to show signs of returning to normalcy. Traffic flow gradually resumed as floodwaters receded and roads were cleared. Dubai Metro services restarted, reconnecting residents and tourists. The Dubai International Airport, a vital hub for global travel, quickly reopened once runways were operational.
As normalcy is on its way to return, it is clear that Dubai, like the mythical phoenix, can rise above any challenge with a strong administration and supportive residents, and continue to thrive.
