According to statistics, there are 5 rainy days a year in Dubai. They usually occur in January-February and bring about 100 mm of precipitation. However, global climate changes and unforeseen cyclones can interfere with the overall indicators and make their adjustments. This is what happened on April 15-16, 2024 – in one of the driest areas of the world.
According to official data, the rain broke the record dating back to 1949. In a short period, Dubai received an annual rainfall of about 100 mm. In addition, a powerful hurricane hit the city, demolishing trees. This led to flooding of the streets, some basements, and first floors. Schools were closed and nearly 1,500 flights were canceled. At least 4 people died.
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When the largest rainstorm in 75 years began in the city, which led to unprecedented flooding, experts and spectators outside began to build theories about the true cause of the events.
According to scientists and meteorologists, the cause of the flood is much more prosaic and lies in a large-scale storm.
The reason for such large-scale storms, larger than all previous ones in almost a hundred years, lies in the heated atmosphere, which better retains moisture. And the “heating” can be blamed on global warming.
As for the unpreparedness of local utility workers for the apocalypse, it is important to note that such rain is not the norm for the emirate. As we already wrote above, the annual norm fell within a day, so systems designed for a dry climate could not cope.
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When the water receded, the streets were left littered with debris and overturned cars. Photos of them spread across the Internet and appeared in most popular media. From the outside, everything looked like an apocalypse.
According to preliminary estimates, the economic damage of the flood and hurricane could amount to billions of dirhams. This is quite noticeable price even for such a rich emirate. However, according to local experts, given the scale of the natural disaster, the city’s infrastructure turned out to be very strong. Thus, most of the apartments remained intact. Among the more damaged areas were the basements and some lobbies.
Despite extensive damage in some areas of the city, many residential complexes remained virtually untouched. Developers Wasl, SRG Holding, MBAL, Sobha performed especially well. Let’s briefly talk about each of them to understand what kind of players they are in the real estate market:
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They are not the only ones whose buildings escaped damage during the flood, but they are among those who showed an amazing result, given the scale of the tragedy. The big name of the developer does not always become a guarantor of quality. Companies with less media coverage often meet the highest requirements and are in no way inferior to industry giants.
