Mysterious illness linked to severe floods reported in Dubai

Dubai was flooded last Tuesday, when a year’s worth of rain fell within 12 hours, causing severe floods. The unprecedented flood disaster caused great damage to Dubai Airport, the world’s busiest international aviation hub. Weather conditions caused Emirates to cancel the flights of 200 thousand passengers and delay many more flights.

In the striking images, residents were seen jet-skiing in the streets, planes had to land in an area that looked like the ocean, and the latest model Rolls-Royce cars were caught in the flood. By the end of last Tuesday, more than 142 millimeters of rain had fallen in the UAE. On average, the country sees 86 millimeters of rain in a year.

The state-run WAM news agency called the rain a “historic weather event” that exceeded “anything documented since data collection began in 1949.”

People in the United Arab Emirates are showing symptoms associated with contaminated water, the UAE Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

The statement carried by the state news agency did not specify exactly how many people were affected or what they were being treated for. The Ministry stated that there were “a very limited number of cases showing some symptoms of being affected by water mixed with another substance” and that these people were treated in hospital. However, it was not disclosed what the water was contaminated with.

It also rained in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. However, the rains were much heavier across the UAE. There is also speculation that the floods were caused by “cloud seeding”.

Some news reports quoted meteorologists at the National Meteorological Center as saying that 6 or 7 cloud seeding flights were conducted before the rains. While the center has yet to respond to questions, flight tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed that a plane linked to the UAE’s cloud seeding efforts flew across the country on Sunday.

The UAE, which relies heavily on high energy-consuming desalination plants to meet its water needs, is carrying out cloud seeding studies to increase the limited and dwindling groundwater.

odatv.com