Heavy rain hits UAE, schools and offices shut due to waterlogged roads

Heavy rain lashed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday, leading to waterlogged roads. Several portions of Dubai were flooded due to waterlogging after downpour, AP reported. 

The flight operations at Dubai airport were briefly suspended due to intense storm.

According to an AP report, the world's busiest airport witnessed flight disruptions after the rains began overnight. 

By the evening, over 120 millimeters (4.75 inches) of rainfall had soaked the city-state the typical average for a year in the desert nation with more expected in the coming hours.

The police and emergency personnel drove slowly through the flooded streets. Lightning flashed across the sky and occasionally touched the tip of Burj Khalifa, the report added.

Schools across the UAE were largely shut and government employees were working from home. Some employees ventured out, with rain leaving their vehicles in deeper-than-expected water covering some roads.

Authorities sent tanker trucks out into the streets and highways to pump away the water. Water poured into some homes, forcing people to bail out their houses.

Rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid, Arabian Peninsula nation, but occurs periodically during the cooler winter months. Many roads and other areas lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall, causing flooding.