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.”
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.
“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.”
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
BABYLON
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The view from The National
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Tour de France
When: July 7-29
UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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