2024 Persian Gulf floods

Last updated

Flooding in Manama, Bahrain

The rains began in UAE late on 15 April 2024, intensifying on 16 April, [7] and officially concluding on 17 April. [19] The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall in a 24-hour period, surpassing Emirati meteorological data since records began in 1949. According to the National Centre of Meteorology, the highest rainfall was recorded in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain, reaching 254.8 mm (10.03 in) in less than 24 hours. [20] Widespread flooding was reported in all seven emirates. [21] Ahead of the flooding, a rainfall more than 100mm was estimated and anticipated in most parts of the UAE, including Dubai, Sharjah, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, Ajman and Ras-al-Khaimah. [22]

One Emirati citizen, a 70-year-old man, died after his car was swept away by floods in a wadi in Ras Al Khaimah. [23] Three overseas Filipino workers also died, two after being trapped inside a vehicle trapped in flooding, [24] and the third after their vehicle fell into a sinkhole. [25] A Pakistani man in his 50s drowned after the municipality tanker he was driving was swept into a wadi. [26]

Landslides were reported in Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain. Residents were warned with an emergency alert message, advising residents to stay home and avoid driving unless absolutely necessary. [21] Internet and power outages were widespread as residents lost water. [27] In the entire country, schools and the private sector were instructed to work the remainder of the week (excluding Monday) remotely from home. [28] [21]

Dubai Metro services were severely impacted, leaving around 200 commuters stranded at several stations when service was suspended. [29] The next day, the Road and Transit Authority (RTA) carried out maintenance checks and opened limited service on both lines. [30] Intercity bus service on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi, Dubai-Sharjah, and Dubai-Ajman routes were suspended. [31] A total of 1,244 flights at Dubai International Airport were cancelled over a two-day period with 41 others diverted. [32] [33] All Flydubai flights scheduled for departure on 16 April from Dubai were cancelled. [21] [34] At the Dubai airport, a total of 164 mm (6.45 in) of rain fell. [35]

The AFC Asian Champions League semi-final football match between the Emirati Al Ain and the Saudi Al Hilal football clubs, due to be played in Al Ain, was postponed for a day due to the floods. [36]

More than 100 families living in a multistory tower in Muhaisnah 4 in Dubai were evacuated from the premises late on 19 April after its structure suffered damages. The torrential rains flooded the basement of the building. Although water was pumped out, even after five days, there was stagnant water with cars submerged in the basement. [37]

Five days after the rains, large parts of Sharjah grappled with health concerns from stagnant water contaminated with sewage. [38] There were reports of individuals falling sick and children vomiting, prompting the need for urgent medical attention. [39]

Bahrain

A flooded street in Muharraq, Bahrain Muharraq flooding, Bahrain 2024.png
A flooded street in Muharraq, Bahrain

Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms occurred on 15 and 16 April that resulted in widespread flooding, leading to cars being abandoned on roads. [40] According to the Bahrain meteorological directorate, an average of 67.6 mm (2.66 in) of rainfall was reported over 48 hours, the second highest rainfall recorded in Bahraini history. [41] The Bahraini Ministry of Interior issued a public safety warning to residents to stay at home. [42] The Ministry of Education announced a closure of schools and higher education institutions as a result of the floods. [40] Windspeed gusts of 70 km/h were estimated. [43] A supermarket's ceiling in the town of Sitra collapsed due to the rain. [44]

Qatar

Heavy rainfall and strong winds were largely confined to the northern parts of the country centered around the towns of Madinat ash Shamal and Ar-Ruʼays. Scattered showers were reported in Doha. [45] Schools and public buildings were closed due to the weather, with services shifted online for the day. [46] [45]

Iran

Heavy rain and flash flooding were also reported in southeastern Iran. The provinces of Sistan-Baluchistan, Hormozgan and Kerman were the worst affected, with eight people killed in Sistan-Baluchistan and three people reported missing in Kerman province. [47] [48] [49]

Saudi Arabia

Heavy rainfall was reported in the Eastern Province. [50] Widespread flooding affected the province, particularly the capital Dammam, resulting in road tunnel closures and the closure of schools. [51]

Kuwait

Kuwait's meteorological agency were warned of heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorms on 16 April. [42]

Yemen

Torrential rain and flash flooding occurred in Yemen's Hadhramaut Governorate on 17 April, with one death reported and widespread damage to property. Heavy rain in the mountains close to the port of Mukalla raised the possibility of landslides. [52]

Afghanistan and Pakistan

Remnants of the severe thunderstorm system that caused the 2024 Persian Gulf floods affected Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing 700 people. [53]

Responses

On 17 April, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa announced plans to assess and compensate residents with rainfall-related damages to their homes. [54] In the leadup to the heavy rainfall, a nationwide emergency joint task force was set up between the Ministry of Works and the four municipality councils of Bahrain to coordinate flood relief efforts including the removing of rainwater from flooded streets and pumping it to Al-Luzi lake. [40]

The Royal Oman Police conducted 152 operations, rescuing 1,630 individuals stranded from flooding across the country. [55]

United Arab Emirates

On 17 April, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced plans to assess the damages and provide support to the impacted families. [56] Moreover, he ordered a study of the country's infrastructure. [57] On 18 April, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum held a meeting to prepare for future natural crises. [58] On 21 April, he ordered early payment of salaries for Dubai government employees. [59] Developers Nakheel, Emaar, Dubai Holding, Union Properties and Dubai Investments Park started offering free services such as alternative housing for affected residents. [60]

By 17 April, the National Guard's Search and Rescue Centre had carried out 136 operations involving 71 search and rescues and 65 medical evacuations. [61]

Reactions

The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha, offered condolences to flood victims. [62]

Cloud seeding allegations

In the aftermath of the floods, some news outlets quoted specialist meteorologist Ahmed Habib linking the heavy downpours to the UAE's cloud seeding program. [63] Due to the arid desert climate and high temperatures, cloud seeding has been used previously in the United Arab Emirates to combat water scarcity, which has been alleged to cause the severe thunderstorm system. [64]

Dismissing the allegations, Omar Al Yazeedi, the deputy director-general of the UAE's National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), said the institution "did not conduct any seeding operations during this event". [65] Other news commentators have also dismissed the link to cloud seeding, stating that the technology marginally increases rainfall and that the UAE's cloud seeding program is localised to the eastern part of the country, away from densely populated metropolitan areas; other experts, such as the Royal Meteorological Society, stated that cloud seeding would only have a minimal effect, [7] with others even stating that the focus on cloud seeding is "misleading". [66] [8]

Scientists from the University of Reading, whose cloud seeding program is used by the UAE, denied that cloud seeding was to blame for the heavy rainfall, given that the large-scale weather pattern was predicted in advance and was too large to be influenced by cloud seeding. They added that the effects of cloud seeding are typically short-lived, lasting for a few hours and only impacted a particular region. [10]

See also

References

  1. "Heavy rains kill 4, affect thousands of IDPs in Yemen". Xinhua . 22 April 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  2. Singh, Marisha (18 April 2024). "Unusual weather system brings rain to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain". Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  3. Rannard, Georgina (25 April 2024). "Deadly Dubai floods made worse by climate change". BBC News . Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. "Death Toll From Region-Wide Floods Rises To 18 In Southeast Iran". Iran International . 20 April 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  5. "Fierce storm lashes UAE as Dubai diverts flights". BBC News. 16 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  6. Ahmar, Abir (30 August 2022). "Parched UAE turns to science to squeeze more rainfall from clouds". Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 McCabe, Kirsty (18 April 2024). "Dubai floods and cloud seeding". Royal Meteorological Society . Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Cornwell, Alexander (18 April 2024). "What caused Dubai floods? Experts cite climate change, not cloud seeding". Reuters . Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  9. Seth, Borenstein; Peterson, Brittany (17 April 2024). "Here's why experts don't think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai's downpour". Associated Press . Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  10. 1 2 Knapton, Sarah (18 April 2024). "Reading University denies causing flooding in Dubai". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  11. Katwala, Amit. "No, Dubai's Floods Weren't Caused by Cloud Seeding". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  12. Mulhern, Owen (17 September 2020). "Sea Level Rise Projection Map – The Persian Gulf". Earth.org. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  13. Wintour, Patrick (29 October 2021). "'Apocalypse soon': reluctant Middle East forced to open eyes to climate crisis". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Fourth day after disastrous storm, flash floods – Oman and UAE grapple with aftermath". Maktoob media. 18 April 2024. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  15. "Dubai airport chaos as UAE and Oman reel from deadly storms". BBC News . 16 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  16. "Fierce storm lashes United Arab Emirates as Dubai diverts flights". 16 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  17. al Dhafri, Badr (15 April 2024). "The tragedy which took the lives of 10 students". Oman Observer. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  18. "Dubai airport chaos as UAE and Oman reel from deadly storms". 16 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  19. Mair, Findlay (17 April 2024). "UAE confirms the end of worst ever storm". TimeOut UAE. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  20. "UAE witnesses record-breaking rains, highest in 75 years". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Dubai flights: All arrivals diverted away from airport amid floods and rain in UAE". The National. 16 April 2024. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  22. "Weather tracker: Gulf braced for thunderstorms". The Guardian. 15 April 2024. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  23. "UAE citizen dies after being swept away by flooded wadi amid heavy rains". Khaleej Times. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  24. "3 OFWs died in UAE floods, DMW says". ABS-CBN . Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  25. "1 sa 3 OFW na nasawi sa Dubai, UAE noong kasagsagan ng ulan at baha, nahulog sa sinkhole". GMA News (in Filipino). Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  26. Ali, Aghaddir (20 April 2024). "UAE rains: Municipality worker drowns after tanker swept away by floodwaters in Al Dhaid region". Gulf News . Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  27. Alawlaqi, Ahmed Waqqas. "'We underestimated this storm': UAE residents face electricity, water outages after flooding, heavy rains". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  28. "Dubai announces extension of remote work, learning for second day amid unstable weather". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  29. "Dubai Metro update: RTA to carry out maintenance after rains put stations out of service". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  30. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. "UAE rains: Intercity bus services suspended due to unstable weather". gulfnews.com. 16 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  32. "Dubai Airport diverts flights as Exceptional weather hits Gulf". The Express Tribune. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  33. Abbas, Waheed. "884 Dubai flights cancelled over 2 days; DXB resumes arrivals for some airlines". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  34. Abbas, Waheed. "Dubai airports temporarily diverts all inbound flights". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  35. Dubai flooded by extreme rain as deadly storms sweep through UAE, Oman Archived 17 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine , AccuWeather, 17 April 2024
  36. "UAE witnesses largest amount of rainfall in 75 years". Al Arabiya English. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  37. "Dubai: Families evacuated after building tilts due to structural damages". Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  38. Farooqui, Mazhar. "UAE floods: Sewage-contaminated waters add to the stress of some Sharjah residents". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  39. Farooqui, Mazhar. "UAE floods: Hospitals, clinics offer free services amid reports of illness". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  40. 1 2 3 "Residents struggle to cope with severe flooding amidst heavy rainfall". www.newsofbahrain.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  41. Adnan, Nader. "Second Heaviest Downpour". Gulf Daily News. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  42. 1 2 Farag, Mona (16 April 2024). "Heavy rain and flash flood warnings sweep the Gulf, with Oman bearing brunt of wet weather". The National. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  43. "Bahrain braces for heavy rain and thunderstorms today". www.zawya.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  44. "Heavy rains kill 18 in Oman as flash floods lash UAE". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  45. 1 2 Varghese, Joseph (16 April 2024). "Qatar experiences moderate to heavy rains, strong winds". Gulf Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  46. Salari, Fatemeh (16 April 2024). "Qatar announces closure of schools, public bodies over severe weather conditions". Doha News. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  47. "Flood Kills 8, Damages Infrastructure in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan | Iran International". Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  48. "Iranians told to watch out for loose crocodiles as flooding hits country's southeast". CNN . 18 April 2024. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  49. "Heavy downpour and flash floods hit southeast Iran". Mehr News Agency. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  50. Ebrahim, Brandon Miller, Nadeen (17 April 2024). "Chaos in Dubai as UAE records heaviest rainfall in 75 years". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  51. "Heavy rain lashes in Eastern Province while near zero-visibility in Qassim and Riyadh". www.zawya.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  52. "Death reported in Yemen as weather continues to worsen". www.albawaba.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  53. "Weather tracker: rains bring deadly flash floods to Afghanistan and Pakistan". The Guardian. 19 April 2024. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  54. "THE BIG SPLASH: HRH Prince Salman orders compensation for rain-affected". Gulf Daily News. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  55. "Over 1,600 Individuals Rescued in Oman After Flash Floods". Oman Moments. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  56. "Dubai faces massive clean up after deluge swamps glitzy desert city". Reuters. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  57. "President orders infrastructure study as UAE tackles rain aftermath". Khaleej Times. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  58. "UAE storm: Dubai officials meet to discuss future crisis plans". Time Out Dubai. 18 April 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  59. "Dubai floods: Sheikh Hamdan orders early payment of salaries for govt employees". Khaleej Times. 21 April 2024. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  60. "Dubai: Free services offered by major developers as residents grapple with after-effects of floods". Khaleej Times. 20 April 2024. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  61. "UAE rains: 136 search-and-rescue operations conducted in 24 hours". Khaleej Times. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  62. "OIC Secretary General Offers Condolences To Oman Over Flood Victims". UrduPoint. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  63. "Dubai Grinds to Standstill as Cloud Seeding Worsens Flooding". Bloomberg.com. 16 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  64. Vlamis, Kelsey. "Photos of torrential Dubai flash floods show the downsides of trying to control the weather". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  65. "Did controversial 'cloud seeding' flights cause torrential downpours and huge flooding in Dubai?". LBC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  66. "What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai flooding?". 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
2024 Persian Gulf floods
Bahrain Flooding 2024.png
Persian Gulf floods as seen in Manama, Bahrain
2024 Persian Gulf floods precipitation.gif
A forecast map of the Middle East showing the accumulated 24-hour precipitation (mm)
Cause Mesoscale convective system