Rain heroes join forces to help strangers
FROM RESCUING STRANDED MOTORISTS AND PROVIDING SHELTER TO FIXING LEAKY HOUSES, RESIDENTS UNITE IN ADVERSITY
Amidst the heaviest downpour in recorded history that inundated the streets of the UAE on Tuesday, stories emerged of residents’ incredible courage and compassion. They literally weathered the storm with resilience.
With roads transformed into waterways and vehicles immobilised, several residents opened their homes to stranded motorists, helped people reach home, moved damaged cars and fixed leaky houses.
Car rescue
A video of a group of men rescuing passengers trapped in a car on a flooded street went viral on social media. The video shows them breaking open the sunroof, reaching in and pulling out a man wearing a kandoura and other passengers to safety.
There were also videos of cats being rescued from drowning.
Sheltering strangers
Several residents also opened their doors and hearts to strangers in need. Mudon resident Monika Prasad and her colleague were stranded in a Zabeel area on their way back home from work in Karama.
“My colleague Debbie was driving our boss’ car. He was kind to give us his SUV because we were scared to use Debbie’s hatchback,” she said. “We couldn’t get on to Al Ain Road and finally when we realised that the vehicle risked becoming submerged, we knocked on the door of a villa.”
She added: “We thought of requesting the family to allow us to park in their compound. But the Emirati family welcomed us with open arms. After a couple of hours, we thought of getting back on the road, but the situation had worsened. The Emirati family called us back. The lady of the house just gave me a hug and told us to stay. This was the scariest day of my 16 years in Dubai, but my love for this city has doubled.”
Transporting the stranded
Deepak Mohan, a member of the UAE Rain Support WhatsApp group, braved flooded roads through the night to drop stranded people home. He helped transport around 15 people to safety on Tuesday night.
Those who received help from him included a female doctor and two nurses, one of whom is pregnant. “I picked them up from Barsha. I dropped them in a safe place in Karama. It took about two hours,” he said.
An elderly Kazakh couple and their daughter, who are on a visit to the UAE, were also rescued by him. He dropped them to their hotel in Mankhool.
He also helped an Indian woman and her wheelchair bound mother who were stranded after arriving at Dubai International Airport.
Fixing apartments
While many battled flooded rooms on their ground floors, several other residents faced leaky apartments and villas.
Jessy Chami, a Lebanese expat who lives in JVC, found that the ceiling of her apartment was leaking. “Many apartments in our building were damaged. I was scared because there was a lot of water and I have a dog at home. When I went down to the security, they gave me the contact of a neighbour called Fares. He literally created a way for the water to come from the ceiling directly to the sink,” she said.
Rescuing motorists
When hundreds of motorists were stranded on Shaikh Zayed Road for several hours, Nasir
Amir Qureshi, co-founder of a chauffeur service company, sent out a broadcast message: “If you are stuck — just call us, and we will send one of our drivers across.”
Indian expat Raksha Uttamchandani’s 54-year-old mother was one such motorist. “She was returning from work. With no sign of movement after four
hours, she was desperate for a way home. I decided to call Nasir, and within one hour, he sent a driver to take over her car. The driver came on foot!,” she said.
“The driver brought her car back home safely at 1am. He refused payment and said they did this for humanity. I have saved Nasir’s number as Mom’s Hero,” she added.
Providing free parking
Faizal Bin Mohammad, who also helped rescue several stranded residents including a couple with a 20-day-old baby from DIFC Metro Station in JVC, said his firm also provided free parking spaces in Al Ghusais and Muhaisnah 2. “We offered this community support as a small gesture to ease the burden of people,” he said.
Aslam, an active member of the UAE Rain Support WhatsApp group, took charge of food distribution and created additional groups only for that purpose.