Flooding after storm dumps a year and a half’s worth of rain on parts of UAE

An SUV passes through water in Dubai (Jon Gambrell/AP)

Heavy thunderstorms lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, dumping more than a year and a half’s worth of rain on the desert city-state of Dubai in the span of hours as it flooded out portions of major highways and its international airport.

Meanwhile, the death toll in separate heavy flooding in neighbouring Oman rose to 18 with others still missing as the nation prepared for the storm.