Unprecedented floods in Dubai, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar

Tuesday 17 April 2024 was marked by torrential rains that resulted in severe flooding in Dubai.

Huge amounts of rain - 160 millimetres in a few hours - were recorded at Dubai International Airport, the equivalent of two years' rainfall in less than a day. Some flights had to be diverted due to the bad weather.

The Emirates airline suspended check-in due to the damage caused by this rare phenomenon unfolding in this desert country.

Closed schools, collapsed roads and suspended transport services were some of the other consequences of the disastrous flooding.

This was the heaviest rainfall recorded in the United Arab Emirates since 1949. The disaster affected other Gulf countries as well, including Bahrain, Oman and parts of Qatar.

18 people lost their lives in the Sultanate of Oman, including nine schoolchildren and three adults