Record rain poured down on Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the heaviest in the past 75 years, flooding the city with water. Statistics show that the amount of rain measured here in just 12 hours reached nearly 100mm, equivalent to the amount of rain in Dubai in a year.
Rain is rare on the Arabian Peninsula, which is known for its dry desert climate. Climate experts explain that the cause of extreme weather phenomena like this historic flood is global warming.
This rain also became an unprecedented challenge to the drainage infrastructure in Dubai, causing the modern city, accustomed to a hot, dry desert climate, to be almost paralyzed for many days.
This makes the past week in Dubai feel like “the end of the world” for people who are accustomed to life in an urban area filled with desert sunshine. Even the lives of many people and the tourism industry, which is described as very flashy, in Dubai are almost paralyzed.
Tourists sit in canoes on the streets of Dubai amid a historic flood (Video source: Travel Family).
Tourists arriving in Dubai at the time of historic floods witnessed many unprecedented scenes. Luxurious shopping centers were flooded with rainwater. Elevators in many skyscrapers stopped working. Tourists sit on boats moving between flooded streets.
For many people, this scene is truly shocking in Dubai because this place is known as a high-tech city, a leading international tourist destination with advanced infrastructure.
After the water receded, Dubai city authorities quickly began cleaning up. On many social networking platforms, tourists shared videos recording how the city cleaned the glass of high-rise buildings after floods, attracting a large number of views.
Specifically, Dubai uses a system of unmanned aircraft (drone) to spray water with high pressure. The plane continuously ascends and descends at a moderate speed, spraying water to clean the glass surfaces of many high-rise buildings and modern buildings.
“It turns out this is Dubai’s way of applying high technology to serve life. It looks no different from a science fiction movie scene,” commented an account called Black Swan.
It is known that Dubai’s use of drones to clean buildings has been around since 2020. However, many tourists witnessed this scene for the first time and were surprised.
Dubai uses drones to clean high-rise buildings (Video source: Dubai).
Previously since 2021, Dubai police also relied on the drone network to help deal with crime. These aircraft will fly patrols according to pre-programmed programs, helping police monitor the scene or track suspects, transmitting data to units.
“This scene is probably only seen in wealthy places like Dubai, constantly applying high technology to life,” commented a tourist named Ric Richards.
According to statistics, by 2023, Dubai will be the second largest tourist attraction in the world with more than 17 million visits. One of the factors that makes this place attractive is its year-round sunshine, many bustling luxury shopping areas and delicious restaurants.
Dubai is also a place that has great appeal to foreigners. Of the city’s 3.5 million residents, 92% are foreigners from 200 countries and territories. Tax-free policy and comfortable and convenient life are the things that attract international visitors.
