UAE Allocates $544 Million for Flood Relief: A Lesson Learned from Unprecedented Rains
News Mania desk/Agnibeena Ghosh/27th April 2024
In response to record-breaking rainfall that triggered severe flooding across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the government announced on Wednesday an allocation of $544 million for the restoration of Emirati residents’ homes. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, following a cabinet meeting, emphasized the valuable lessons learned from the challenges posed by the unprecedented rains.
“We learned great lessons in dealing with severe rains,” stated Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as the ruler of Dubai. He further revealed that a ministerial committee had been tasked with overseeing the restoration efforts and distributing compensation in collaboration with federal and local authorities.
The decision to allocate funds for flood relief comes in the wake of extensive damage caused by the unparalleled flood, which transformed streets into rivers and severely disrupted operations at Dubai Airport. Tragically, at least four individuals lost their lives as a result of the excessive rainfall, including three Filipino workers and one Emirati citizen. Although UAE officials have not disclosed an official death toll, the storm claimed the lives of at least 21 people in Oman, according to the official Oman News Agency.
The catastrophic weather event, which struck the UAE before subsiding last Wednesday, inflicted significant damage across the country. Dubai Airport bore the brunt of the impact, with at least 2,155 flights canceled and 115 diverted, resulting in widespread travel disruptions. It wasn’t until Tuesday that the airport managed to return to full operational capacity.
Acknowledging the severity of the situation, the UAE cabinet issued a statement recognizing the unprecedented nature of the weather conditions and reaffirming the country’s commitment to learning and development. “The weather condition that the UAE experienced during the previous days was unprecedented in its severity… but we are a country that learns from every experience… and develops itself,” emphasized the cabinet.
However, despite the government’s efforts to address the aftermath of the disaster, prominent Emirati analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla expressed concerns about the inadequacies in services and crisis management during the crisis. Abdulla emphasized the need for national introspection, highlighting that the failure to manage the crisis effectively did not align with the UAE’s reputation for having the best management and infrastructure in the world.
“Now that Dubai and the Emirates have overcome the strongest hurricane and rains in their history, we must acknowledge, with national concern and self-criticism, that there has been an unreasonable and unacceptable failure and collapse in services and crisis management that is not commensurate with the existence of the best management and the best infrastructure in the world. We hope that this will not be repeated in the future,” wrote Abdulkhaleq Abdulla.
As the UAE endeavors to recover from the devastating impact of the unprecedented rains, the government’s commitment to providing relief and restoring normalcy reflects its determination to safeguard the well-being of its residents and uphold its reputation as a resilient and forward-thinking nation.
