Dubai deluged: Year's worth of rain in 12 hours paralyzes city

Violent storms in Dubai paralyzed the lives of residents. Accounts of people unable to get from work to their homes through the flooded city are shocking. Some spent the night in their office, where they didn't leave for several dozen hours. "We waded through flooded streets and had to navigate broken pieces of cars, metal and debris hidden under the dark brown water," recount the shaken residents.

On Tuesday, Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, was hit by torrential and intense storms that flooded the city.

Rapid floods led to total paralysis in the city, and the flooded streets prevented any movement at the airport.

According to the media, within twelve hours in Dubai, there was as much rain as usually falls here throughout the entire year, which is about 8 centimetres.

Power outages, flight delays, and the evacuation of homes at risk of floods are visible effects of the weather breakdown. City residents share their stories in "The Nationalnews" about surviving the disastrous day.

Ahmed Ali, an accountant at a food and beverage company got stuck in his office in Dubai Marina from 11:00 PM GMT on Tuesday after a whole day of work. Due to the closure of roads and the metro, he spent a total of 30 hours there.

Along with him, five other people spent the night in the office. They jointly purchased food at a bar next to work to get by.

We couldn't sleep most of the night because there were no pillows or blankets – said the accountant quoted by The Nationalnews.

"Sheikh Zayed Road was already slow with traffic trying to get around the lakes on the road, but it rained very heavily at about 7 p.m., and the water rose and trapped a lot of cars and buses," shares Paul Lund, a financial analyst who also stayed in his office at the Dubai International Financial Centre.