Arabian Peninsula Experiences Strongest Weather Event in 75 Years with Torrential Rains, Floods and Mudslides

The United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman this week found themselves at the epicenter of the strongest weather event in 75 years to hit the Arabian Peninsula.

Torrential rains with thunderstorms, which caused floods and mudslides in desert and mountainous areas, paralyzed life in the Emirates: not only highways, metro stations, shopping centers, but also the territory of Dubai International Airport were flooded, which caused dozens of flights to be canceled, and hundreds of passengers, including those from Russia, found themselves hostages of the weather and were forced to wait out the bad weather right in the terminals. Only on the morning of April 18, the air harbor, which is one of the largest regional hubs, began to gradually return to normal operation, one by one sending the flights stranded due to the rains.

The Emirati authorities have maintained the red alert level until Thursday. Schoolchildren and civil servants were preemptively transferred to distance learning and will continue to work in this mode until the end of the working week (ends on Thursday).

This climate crisis has become the strongest since 1949, when meteorological data began to be recorded. On Tuesday, according to forecasters, more than 30 mm of precipitation fell on the UAE in just 15 minutes, and in some areas this figure reached 259 mm.

In neighboring Oman, 19 people were killed as a result of floods caused by the rains, including children - a group of schoolchildren were washed away by stormy streams of water, and it was not possible to save the children. The Sultanate is also recovering from the severe consequences, water is still holding in many settlements, houses, schools, government institutions are flooded, dozens of cars were simply carried away by mudflows.

Currently, the epicenter of the стихии has shifted further south - to Yemen, where rains have been continuing for several days. According to the UN Refugee Agency, water washed away a camp for displaced persons in Marib province in the east of the country, people were left homeless.