Dubai is still wondering what hit it

The United Arab Emirates was on Wednesday rinsing itself dry after the most torrential rain ever recorded in the desert nation. At the same time, its scientists were trying hard to dispel the impression that the chaotic flooding may have been self-inflicted.

The speculation in the western media was largely influenced by flighttracking data analysed by the Associated Press, which showed one aircraft affiliated with the UAE's cloud-seeding efforts flying around the country on Sunday. In its searing heat conditions, UAE heavily relies on cloudseeding - a technique which sees aircraft fire salt flares into clouds to speed up condensation and induce rainfall.

However, the National Centre of Meteorology scientists told Khaleej Times that during "extreme weather conditions, no cloud-seeding is done". Rubbishing widespread claims on the Internet, the weather expert added: “No pilots were dispatched for seeding operations in this period.”

Shocking videos shared on social media showed how cars filled with gushing water, forcing motorists to abandon their vehicles and swim to safety. Some vehicles were completely submerged, with the top of their roofs barely visible above the water.

Rainwater also spilled into homes, pushing people out of their houses and into the streets to seek shelter in higher structures, media reports said.

The floods drowned the airport and many of the surrounding roads, forcing dozens of flights to be cancelled as travellers hustled into the concourse to take shelter. Standing water lapped the aircraft as they came in to land, forcing operators to completely close the airport for almost an hour.

Another video shared on social media showed how the thunderstorms rolled in and the sky became black before the city was enveloped in rain. The UAE experienced record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday -- an unprecedented 254mm (10 inches) in less than 24 hours.

Lightning lit up the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa like a Christmas tree.

A clip shared on X showed entrepreneur and YouTuber Jordan Welch trapped in his Rolls Royce in Dubai as deep water flooded the road. 'My Rolls Royce got flooded and we're stuck in the middle of the road in Dubai,' he wrote. 'Just like all my friends in crypto... today I am underwater,' he posted in a follow-up. But others, in Teslas, took to X, to praise Elon Musk while having 'the best experience with the Tesla Y model' as they 'floated' down the flooded roads while 'every other car is stuck'.