Biblical-level flooding: Chaos in Dubai; flights hit, families stranded at airport

The rain started late on Monday and, according to meteorological data gathered at Dubai International Airport, soaked the sands and roads of Dubai with about 20 millimeters (0.79 inches) of rain. Tuesday morning at around nine in the local time, the storms picked up additional strength and continued to pour more rain and hail on the already overburdened metropolis. (Photo credit: AP)

The biggest international airport in the world and the hub of long-haul airline Emirates, Dubai International Airport receives 94.7 millimeters (3.73 inches) of rain on average annually. As planes touched down at the airport, standing water lapped against the taxiways. Arrivals were eventually stopped by the airport on Tuesday night. Over 142 millimeters (5.59 inches) of rain fell on Dubai in a single day at Tuesday's conclusion. (Photo credit: AP)

With their emergency lights blazing on the nighttime highways, police and emergency personnel cautiously navigated Dubai's flooded streets. The Burj Khalifa, the highest structure in the world, was occasionally touched by lightning as it flashed across the sky. There were delays and flooded stations on the city's driverless metro system. (Photo credit: AP)

UAE closed most of its schools in advance of the storm, and most government workers worked from home when they could. Even though some workers went outside, most chose to stay inside their cars, with the unlucky ones stalling their cars in the unexpectedly deep water that was covering several highways. (Photo credit: AP)

To remove the water, the authorities dispatched tanker trucks onto the streets and highways. Water poured into some homes, forcing people to bail out their houses. While some people slept in their flooded cars on Tuesday night, the nation's hereditary rulers did not provide any information of total damage or injuries to the country. (Photo credit: AP)

Tuesday saw intense thunderstorms lash the United Arab Emirates, flooding parts of key highways and its international airport and dropping more than a year and a half's worth of rain in only a few hours on the desert city-state of Dubai. (Photo credit: AP)

The rain started late on Monday and, according to meteorological data gathered at Dubai International Airport, soaked the sands and roads of Dubai with about 20 millimeters (0.79 inches) of rain. Tuesday morning at around nine in the local time, the storms picked up additional strength and continued to pour more rain and hail on the already overburdened metropolis. (Photo credit: AP)

The biggest international airport in the world and the hub of long-haul airline Emirates, Dubai International Airport receives 94.7 millimeters (3.73 inches) of rain on average annually. As planes touched down at the airport, standing water lapped against the taxiways. Arrivals were eventually stopped by the airport on Tuesday night. Over 142 millimeters (5.59 inches) of rain fell on Dubai in a single day at Tuesday's conclusion. (Photo credit: AP)

With their emergency lights blazing on the nighttime highways, police and emergency personnel cautiously navigated Dubai's flooded streets. The Burj Khalifa, the highest structure in the world, was occasionally touched by lightning as it flashed across the sky. There were delays and flooded stations on the city's driverless metro system. (Photo credit: AP)

UAE closed most of its schools in advance of the storm, and most government workers worked from home when they could. Even though some workers went outside, most chose to stay inside their cars, with the unlucky ones stalling their cars in the unexpectedly deep water that was covering several highways. (Photo credit: AP)

To remove the water, the authorities dispatched tanker trucks onto the streets and highways. Water poured into some homes, forcing people to bail out their houses. While some people slept in their flooded cars on Tuesday night, the nation's hereditary rulers did not provide any information of total damage or injuries to the country. (Photo credit: AP)

Tuesday saw intense thunderstorms lash the United Arab Emirates, flooding parts of key highways and its international airport and dropping more than a year and a half's worth of rain in only a few hours on the desert city-state of Dubai. (Photo credit: AP)