Dubai residents ‘stuck in offices for over 30 hours’ as floods and rain cause chaos

UAE weather live: Emirates hit by severe storms

Heavy rain, thunder and lightning has caused chaos across the Emirates, with Dubai appearing to bear the brunt of the carnage.

Drivers face huge delays on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai International Airport has urged passengers not to travel there unless absolutely necessary and an Emirati died in flash flooding in Ras Al Khaimah.

Dubai has seen particular devastation, with power cuts in some areas, residential properties facing floods and residents not able to return home.

And, although the Dubai Government advised for all private and public sector employees to work remotely on Tuesday and Wednesday, some offices remained open as normal, with staff facing difficulty commuting as a result.

I was trying to get an Uber all night but, in the end, spent the night in my office

Paul Lund

Ahmed Ali, an accountant for a food and beverage company, told The National he has been stuck in his Dubai Marina office since 6pm on Tuesday because of the storm, having already completed a full day at work.

“I’ve been stuck in my workplace for more than 30 hours due to road closures and the Metro,” he said.

“There are about five more people with families back at home and we are waiting for the Metro service to resume so we can go home.”

Mr Ali, who is from Pakistan, said he and his colleagues had to spend the night in their office.

They purchased food from Dubai Marina Mall, which he said was located next to their workplace.

“We couldn’t sleep most of the night because there were no pillows or blankets,” he said.

Paul Lund, a financial analyst from the UK, is also still stuck in his office at Dubai International Financial Centre.

He slept there last night because of the road closures and is waiting for the Dubai Metro to resume services, so he can head home to Dubai Marina.

“The big problem yesterday was not just the Metro going down, but all the taxis were closed due to flooding at Dubai Mall and so everyone was left to try and flag anything down,” he told The National.

“I was trying to get an Uber all night but, in the end, spent the night in my office.

“Sheikh Zayed Road was already slow with traffic trying to get around the lakes on the road, but it rained very heavily at about 7pm and the water rose and trapped a lot of cars and buses.

“I went back to my office as I have a great view of the Metro in case it started back up – however I saw hundreds of people walking up Sheikh Zayed northbound towards Deira.

“There were hundreds camped at Dubai Mall Metro station when I left at about 1am.”

Paul Lund and Steven Bischoff (right). Photo: Paul Lund and Steven Bischoff

Steven Bischoff flew in from New York City to attend the Global Blockchain Show that was taking place at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Convention Centre in Umm Hurair.

He said the conference ended at 6pm and that is when the attendees realised the severity of the storm.

And when Mr Bischoff did finally leave the venue, it took him several hours to reach his hotel in Business Bay.

“I estimate 80 to 100 people were all trapped at the venue with no way to leave,” he said.

“A group of people (people I have never met) and my team journeyed through the storm.

“My hotel is Lusso Hometels J One – this was a three-hour walk from the venue.

“The Metro was open but only one station. This caused hundreds of people to be stuck at different stations across Dubai.

How to clean your home after the UAE’s heaviest rainfall on record? Residents share tips

“Vasyl (my colleague) and I helped many people along the way.”

He said one family they encountered did not have phone service and could not access maps.

“We helped them get to a train station safely but it’s unknown if the station they needed was open,” said Mr Bischoff.

“We waded through flooded streets and had to navigate broken pieces of cars, metal and debris hidden under the dark brown water.”

THE POPE'S ITINERARY

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport

Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial

Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport

The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

Price, as tested: Dh84,000

Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: Six-speed auto

Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

Company%20profile

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXare%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJanuary%2018%2C%202021%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPadmini%20Gupta%2C%20Milind%20Singh%2C%20Mandeep%20Singh%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20Raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2410%20million%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E28%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMS%26amp%3BAD%20Ventures%2C%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Astra%20Amco%2C%20the%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%2C%20Fintech%20Fund%2C%20500%20Startups%2C%20Khwarizmi%20Ventures%2C%20and%20Phoenician%20Funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Salah in numbers

€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.

13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.

57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.

7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.

3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.

40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.

30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.

8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association

ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.