A Year’s Worth of Rain Plunges Dubai Underwater: Importance of Car and Home Insurance in the UAE
All of Dubai was submerged like no other as a year’s worth of rain resulted in severe flooding which completely engulfed homes and businesses. To make matters worse, certain drivers had no choice but to abandon their vehicles amidst the flooding roads.
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In today’s blog post, we will delve into the flood crisis in Dubai as well as the importance of car and home insurance to ensure you, your home, and your vehicle stays safe amidst the overwhelming flood.
Overview: The Flood Crisis in Dubai
On Tuesday, up to four inches (100mm) of rain poured over the course of merely 12 hours, according to weather observations at the Dubai International Airport.
While Dubai is usually dry and hot like the rest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to rare occurrences of rainfall, this past Tuesday absolutely poured down with rain.
The rain that submerged Dubai is associated with a larger storm system traversing the Arabian Peninsula, and moving across the Gulf of Oman, which also brought unusually wet weather to neighboring Oman and Southeastern Iran.
The rapid rainfall would occur more frequently due to human-driven climate change. And as the atmosphere continues warming up, it’s able to soak up more moisture and release extreme gushes of rainfall.
The Flood’s Impact
The excessive flooding submerged even the world’s second busiest airport, the Dubai International Airport, with large jets resembling boats moving through the flooded airport.
Disruptions to the airport’s operations carried over into Wednesday, where the flood completely blocked access roads, various airlines including flag carrier Emirates reporting flight delays, and budget airline Flydubai canceling flights until 10am local time.
Due to operational challenges caused by bad weather and road conditions, Emirates suspended check-ins for passengers departing Dubai from 8am local time on Wednesday until midnight on Thursday.
However, passengers who were already in transit were able to proceed as usual but were warned of delays in departures or arrivals.
According to CNN, a stranded passenger spent the night at the airport surrounded by numerous passengers after flying in from Hong Kong late Tuesday due to lack of transport options outside the terminal and stated the airport was “literally filling up” with nowhere for anyone to go.
Therefore, the Dubai International Airport encouraged people to refrain from coming to the airport unless absolutely necessary as flights continued to be delayed and diverted.
Due to the flood as a result of heavy, rapid rainfall, some drivers were forced to leave their vehicles behind amidst the overwhelmingly flooding roads. Additionally, people who attempted to travel into the center of Dubai by road on Wednesday found themselves trapped on the city’s highway.
Meanwhile, certain taxi drivers refused to take the commuters further due to severe road blockage. Thus, commuters had to walk across the road through humongous puddles in search of alternative methods of transportation.
How Flood Affects Vehicles
The flood can damage a vehicle’s electronics, lubricants, and mechanical systems. While it may take months or years for problems to start manifesting, corrosion resulting from the flood can eventually find its way into the vehicle’s vital electronics such as airbag controllers.
Below are possible warning signs of flood damage in your vehicle:
- Flooded engine
- Flooded transmission
- Electronic malfunctioning (such as short-circuiting wires, dashboard lights not working)
- Musty odor inside your vehicle
- Damp carpets
- Upholstery discoloration
- Corroded parts such as under the dashboard, screws, or doors
- Malfunctioning airbag
- Malfunctioning anti-lock braking system (ABS)
- Malfunctioning ventilation system
Due to malfunctioning electronics or corrosion, most flood-damaged vehicles are considered dangerous and no longer suitable for use. If you think there is a chance it can be repaired, please remember to consult a qualified mechanic.
Car Insurance
An adequate car insurance policy will help safeguard you and your family from overwhelming damage or parts replacement expenses resulting from accidents. Moreover, car insurance can also help pay for medical expenses resulting from car accidents that are excluded by the health insurance policy.
By investing in the right car insurance policy, you get to ensure peace of mind knowing you will get covered in the event of car damage as a result of an accident or injuries resulting from accidents.
How Flood Affects Homes
A flood can damage your home in many ways ranging from mold growth to loose floorboards or electrocution risks. It can also result in cracked foundation, damaged rooftops, or carrying over harmful, contaminated substances from the sewage.
Appliances ranging from ventilation and air conditioning to refrigerators and heaters can also be severely damaged due to the flood. Moreover, food in your home may also spoil due to lack of refrigeration resulting from a power outage or from coming into contact with the flood water.
Home Insurance
Replacing appliances or performing repairs to your flood-damaged house can be costly, so it’s important that you secure the right insurance plan to safeguard your finances in restoring your home.
However, do keep in mind that a standard home insurance policy will not cover flood damage done to your home. Thus, you will need a separate flood insurance in order to cover repair and maintenance after flood damage.
Flood insurance will then cover repairing and drying out your home as well as restoring or replacing certain flood-damaged furniture or appliances. Additionally, should you face any injuries as a result of damaged or malfunctioning home appliances, flood insurance can also cover those injuries.
Secure Health Insurance with Pacific Prime
Whether you’re going through the flood crisis in Dubai as a local citizen or expat, the risk of illnesses and injuries resulting from the flood always exists and medical bills can be overwhelmingly expensive. But fortunately, that is where we come in.
As an international health insurance broker, Pacific Prime Dubai has over 20 years of experience in matching both expats and locals to their health insurance plan of choice. Whether you’re a local citizen yourself or an expat living overseas, our team of experts are more than happy to help you.
And if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts, Media & Communication major (concentration: Creative Content) from Mahidol University International College (MUIC). During the compulsory major elective period in the summer of 2021 and voluntarily during the summer of 2022, he also interned as a video and photo editor at Mbrella Films.
He has experience working as an English Content Writer at a real estate buying/renting/selling platform in Thonglor. There, he crafted company blog posts on a multitude of topics. Topics include market trends, legal issues and disputes in property businesses, financial guides, expat guides, home insurance, home decoration and maintenance, and weekly real estate news quick-recaps. Occasionally, as part of the blog-writing process, he would also translate existing Thai blogs to English.
In his free time, Guy enjoys doing scriptwriting and storytelling for comic strips, watching movies, and listening to music (particularly film scores).
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