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Long drives, karak, counting losses: Heavy rains in UAE bring joy and damage

Visitors have praised the kindness of residents who helped each other out during the unstable weather

While some UAE residents went on long drives and enjoyed a strong karak, others were left cleaning up the mess and counting their losses after torrential rains hit the UAE on Saturday.

Heavy rain, thunder and lightning hit several parts of the country, leaving many areas submerged.

For adventure-loving couple Hafsa and Saeed, it was the perfect occasion to explore the city. “At first we were a little hesitant but then we set off on a drive,” said Hafsa.

Their drive led them to the mountain side where they stopped to walk around. “We were just exploring when we saw some police officers in quite a distance,” she said. “We thought we’d greet them when we realized that it was Omani police patrolling the border. That’s when we realized that we had reached the border of Oman.”

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It was midnight by the time they reached back home. “It was a long drive but it was totally worth it,” she said. “We were able to really enjoy the beauty of the UAE.”

Kindness all around

For Canadian tourist Uzma, it was meant to be a sunny Dubai vacation. “I came for the sun but I got a storm instead,” she chuckled. Visiting Dubai for the first time, Uzma and her mother were on a girls trip. Saturday was meant to be a desert safari day for the duo. When they heard of the rain, they canceled it and instead decided to walk around the neighbourhood. What they discovered was the kindness of Dubai residents.

“We walked from our hotel in Barsha to the nearest Lulu,” said Uzma. “On the way back, we had a lot of packets and the roads were very really wet and slippery. We noticed that some good Samaritans had laid out sandbag and cloth hangars to make it easier for people to cross. I was worried about my mother but a passerby stopped to help my mother cross the road safely.”

When they stopped at Mall of the Emirates to have dinner, a restaurant manager offered to make tea for them. “I had asked the manager where I could buy some karak in the mall because my mother was really craving it,” said Uzma. “And he offered to make it for her the way she liked it, even though they don’t serve tea. I was touched by how random strangers in the city were willing to help each other out so much. It was really a beautiful experience.”

Of losses and damage

But it was not all nice and rosy for everyone in the emirate. Some residents had heavy leaks in their houses while others suffered loss and damage to their shops.

Suresh, the manager of a shop in Deira, shared that the store’s facade had sustained some damages. “Due to the water, our shutter malfunctioned and opened very forcefully,” he said. “This caused our glass window to crack. Due to the storm warning, we had taken protective measures to protect whatever was in our display. So thankfully, everything was safe.”

Soobi Shine, resident of Falconcity of Wonders, spent time cleaning up her backyard after the rain. “My entire garden was flooded and there was water everywhere,” she said. “The rain was falling incessantly. It took me a while to clean up the mess.”

However, Soobi is thankful that the water did not enter her house. “Due to several previous rains, we learnt our lesson,” she said. “We have waterproof coating on our roofs and we unclogged our drains during the last rain. That’s why we are peacefully enjoying the rain now.”

Many residents were surprised at how quickly authorities cleaned up the streets. “On Saturday afternoon, I was not able to drive on the roads around my house,” said Dubai resident Rahul. “In fact, I even saw a car getting stuck in the water. By around 8pm, all the roads were clean and dry. I was very surprised.”

Over 2,300 personnel from various entities including Dubai Municipality, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Police, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment, and Nakheel were deployed to respond to emergencies and mitigate the impact of heavy rains on Saturday.