American tourists are stuck in Dubai after the desert nation suffered “historic” floods that inundated the city and closed its airport.
The United Arab Emirates experienced the heaviest rain ever recorded on Tuesday and the “historic weather event” wreaked havoc across the country.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airfield for international travel, was inundated by the deluge, leaving tourists stranded in the desert.
“Everyone is literally trapped here,” an American tourist from Los Angeles reported Tuesday from her hotel room in Dubai.
“If you try to get here, you won’t get it,” Wendy O. said in a TikTok video.
“Everyone is literally trapped here,” an American tourist from Los Angeles reported Tuesday from her hotel room in Dubai.
“If you try to get here, you won’t get it,” Wendy O. said in a TikTok video.
Another influencer, known for posting investment TikToks, documented his experience with the crazy Dubai flood while in town for a Desci event.
American tourists are stuck in Dubai after the desert nation suffered “historic” floods that inundated the city and closed its airport.
The United Arab Emirates experienced the heaviest rain on record on Tuesday, with the ‘historic weather event’ wreaking havoc across the country.
“Literally everything you see on the Internet is true: the flooding, the mall collapse, people getting stuck in their cars, people getting electrocuted while trying to get through all the flooding in the streets…
“That’s because they don’t have drainage here,” the TikToker explained.
“For the first time I’m happy to pay crazy taxes in Los Angeles to have proper drainage,” he said, adding that the flood is a “burning disaster” and he can’t wait to get home.
Other videos on TikTok of Americans visiting Dubai showed their horrified reactions to the crazy weather conditions.
A TikToker from New Jersey captured a video of herself in a taxi as the roads were flooded with water, which she called “the most traumatic experience.”
Another visitor shared images of a Dubai shopping center where water was falling dramatically on the marble floors and terrified shoppers were trying to flee.
An American businessman visiting Dubai said he was “trying to recover” when the flooding hit. “The roads are like swimming pools right now,” he said, adding that the Bitcoin conference he was attending in the city was canceled due to extreme flooding.
A group of influencers visiting the desert city were trapped inside a Rolls Royce during the flood, while a video captured the terrified tourists floating inside their luxury vehicle in the middle of the road.
Another tourist detailed how she “risked her life” in Dubai after getting stuck at the airport for hours while trying to hail a taxi, while other travelers had been stuck there for over 8 hours.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airfield for international travel, was inundated by the deluge, leaving tourists stranded in the desert.
Another tourist detailed how she “risked her life” in Dubai after getting stuck at the airport for hours while trying to hail a taxi, while other travelers had been stuck there for over 8 hours.
Aoife said in a TikTok documenting her group’s chaotic taxi ride to Dubai that they were basically “swimming” in the water as their suitcases clung to the bed of the four-by-four vehicle for dear life.
He said the city felt “apocalyptic” as they drove the wrong way down the highway and that the experience was terrifying.
It also rained in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia earlier this week. However, the rains were heavy across the UAE.
One possible contributor may have been “cloud seeding,” in which small government-operated planes fly through clouds burning special salt flares. These flares can increase precipitation.
Several reports cited meteorologists at the National Meteorological Center as saying they made six or seven flights to seed clouds ahead of the rains.
Flight tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed that a plane affiliated with the United Arab Emirates’ cloud seeding efforts flew around the country on Monday.
The National, a state-linked English-language newspaper in Abu Dhabi, quoted an unnamed official at the center on Wednesday as saying there was no cloud seeding on Tuesday, without acknowledging any previous flights.
The center did not respond to questions from the AP on Wednesday.