American tourists are stuck in Dubai after the desert nation was hit with 'historic' floods that drenched the city and shut down its airport.
The United Arab Emirates experienced the heaviest rain ever recorded on Tuesday and the 'historic weather event' wreaked havoc across the nation.
Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airfield for international travel, was flooded out by the deluge - leaving tourists stranded in the desert.
'Everyone's literally stuck here,' an American tourist from Los Angeles reported from her hotel room in Dubai on Tuesday.
'If you're trying to get here, you're not gonna get her,' Wendy O. said in a TikTok video.
'Everyone's literally stuck here,' an American tourist from Los Angeles reported from her hotel room in Dubai on Tuesday
'If you're trying to get here, you're not gonna get her,' Wendy O. said in a TikTok video
@cryptowendyo Yes, everything you see on the internet about the Dubai flood is true #dubai #cryptowendyo
♬ original sound - Wendy O✨
Another influencer, known for posting investing TikToks, documented his experience with the insane Dubai flooding while he was in the city for a Desci event
American tourists are stuck in Dubai after the desert nation was hit with 'historic' floods that drenched the city and shut down its airport
The United Arab Emirates experienced the heaviest rain ever recorded on Tuesday and the 'historic weather event' wreaked havoc across the nation
'Literally everything you see on the internet is true - the flooding, the mall collapsing, the 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 ever I'm happy that I pay crazy taxes in LA to have proper drainage,' she said - adding that the flooding is a 'hot mess' and that she can't wait to go home.
Other videos on TikTok from Americans visiting Dubai showed their horrified reactions to the insane weather conditions.
A TikToker from New Jersey captured a video of herself in a taxi as the roads flooded with water, which she captioned 'the most traumatic experience.'
Another visitor shared footage of a Dubai mall as water dramatically gushed over the marbles floors and panicked shoppers tried to flee.
An American businessman visiting Dubai said he was 'trying to get his run in' when the flood hit. 'The roads are like pools right now,' he said - adding that the Bitcoin conference he was attending in the city got cancelled due to the extreme flooding.
A group of influencers visiting the desert city got trapped inside a Rolls Royce during the flooding, as video footage captured the panicked 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 in the airport for hours while trying to get a taxi, while other travelers had been stuck there for 8+ hours
Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airfield for international travel, was flooded out by the deluge - leaving tourists stranded in the desert
@heyitstae16 habibi 😭 #dubaimall #flooding #flashflooding #dubaistorm #rain
♬ Oh No - Kreepa
@bitcoincapitalist Dubai is flooded by rain storm #uae #dubairain #blockchainlife #bitcoin
♬ original sound - Bitcoin Capitalist 🌎
Another tourist detailed how she 'risked her life' in Dubai after getting stuck in the airport for hours while trying to get a taxi, while other travelers had been stuck there for 8+ hours.
Aoife said in a TikTok documenting her group's chaotic taxi journey to Dubai that they were basically 'swimming' through the water as their suitcases clung on to the bed of the four-by-four vehicle for dear life.
She said that the city felt 'apocalyptic' as they drove the wrong way down the road and that the experience was terrifying.
Rain also fell in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia earlier this week. However, the rains were acute across the UAE.
One possible contributor may have been 'cloud seeding,' in which small planes operated by the government fly through clouds burning special salt flares. Those flares can increase precipitation.
Several reports quoted meteorologists at the National Center for Meteorology as saying they flew six or seven cloud-seeding flights before the rains.
Flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed one aircraft affiliated with the UAE’s cloud-seeding efforts flew around the country Monday.
The National, an English-language, state-linked newspaper in Abu Dhabi, quoted an anonymous official at the center on Wednesday as saying no cloud seeding took place on Tuesday, without acknowledging any earlier flights.
The center did not respond to questions Wednesday from the AP.
