NASA released photos of parts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi before and after the United Arab Emirates was hit by record rainfall last week, causing dangerous flooding and paralyzing large parts of the country.
The images were captured on Friday by NASA Earth Observatory using Landsat data US Geological Surveyshow large areas of water throughout the desert and concrete landscape of the UAE where there was none before – it almost looks as if small lakes have been created.
“Some areas remained flooded on April 19 Landsat 9 “It passed over the region for the first time since the storms,” NASA wrote on its Earth Observatory website.
Flash floods that formed on April 16 caused cars to develop into submerged in water and in some areas completely submerged, causing a whole bunch of motorists to desert their vehicles on the road to flee rising water levels.
The normally dry Gulf desert land was hit with a couple of yr's value of rain in lower than a day, greater than ever in a single storm since records began for the UAE in 1949.
NASA's first image shows a part of Dubai and surrounding areas from April 3, captured by Landsat 9, an Earth remark satellite operated by a partnership between the US Geological Survey and NASA. The second image was taken on April 19, when Landsat 9 flew over the region for the primary time because the country's record rainfall.
The second image, captured by the satellite's OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager 2), “shows flooding in numerous parts of the emirate. The image is presented in false colors (bands 6-5-3) to highlight the presence of water blue,” NASA wrote.
The deluge closed schools and businesses, grounded a whole bunch of flights and destroyed cars, stores and other property. It threw each day life into chaos as many residents lost power and running water or were trapped either of their homes, airports or wherever they were when the storm hit.
The United Arab Emirates' National Center for Meteorology said as much as 250 millimeters – 10 inches – of rain was measured in eastern parts of the country in lower than 24 hours. In contrast, the United Arab Emirates typically receives 5.5 to eight inches of rainfall per yr in a full yr.
Due to an absence of drainage infrastructure and the incontrovertible fact that the country's urban spaces are paved, much of the water couldn’t drain away, worsening flooding in lots of areas.
The country's cleanup efforts proceed and diverse problems remain in some areas where infrastructure has been severely damaged and lots of residents say they still haven’t any running water or electricity.
A multi-story apartment constructing near the border between Dubai and the Emirate of Sharjah cracked and tipped over because of structural damage was spared by the storm and was completely evacuated on Friday because of the danger of collapse.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has issued a directive to local banks and insurance firms to permit loan repayments to be deferred for six months to assist residents and businesses affected by the flooding.
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