
Airport authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cancelled or delayed dozens of flights and roads were flooded in major cities as the heaviest rainstorm in months lashed the desert nation on Friday. Dubai’s Emirates airline axed 13 flights on Friday and there were also delays and cancellations at neighbouring Sharjah’s airport after the overnight downpour, which woke residents with lightning flashes and loud cracks of thunder. Sharjah’s main street was completely flooded early on Friday, with residents seen wading through it in bare feet. One man rode his bicycle through the water, which reached the top of its wheels. The scenes evoked memories of April 2024, when record rains caused widespread flooding and forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights at Dubai’s major international air hub. On Thursday, Dubai police had urged residents to stay in unless “absolutely necessary” as the rainstorm approached. Early on Friday, water-pumping trucks were seen around Dubai clearing blocked roads and large p...