A storm dumps record rain across the desert nation of UAE and floods Dubai’s airport

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The desert nation of the United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Wednesday from the heaviest rain ever recorded there after a deluge flooded out Dubai International Airport, disrupting flights through the world’s busiest airfield for international travel.

The state-run WAM news agency called the rain Tuesday “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.” That’s before the discovery of crude oil in this energy-rich nation then part of a British protectorate known as the Trucial States.

Rain also fell in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. However, the rains were acute across the UAE.

The flooding sparked speculation that cloud seeding -- flying small planes through clouds dispersing chemicals aimed at getting rain to fall -- may have caused the deluge. But experts said the storm systems that produced the rain were forecast well in advance and that cloud seeding would not have caused such flooding.

Several reports quoted meteorologists at the National Center for Meteorology as saying they flew six or seven cloud-seeding flights before the rains. Flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed one aircraft affiliated with the UAE’s cloud-seeding efforts flew around the country Monday.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/uae-historic-rain-storm-flooding-dubai-airport-disruption-3e838dbc169e52dcd6d11b64f79bdcb7

Comprehension

What country is the desert nation mentioned in the article?
What is the name of the airport that was flooded out in Dubai?
When did the heaviest rain ever recorded in the UAE occur?
Which countries besides the UAE were affected by the rain?
What is the name of the agency that called the rain a "historic weather event"?
What is the name of the process that the UAE uses to make rain fall?
Did the UAE's cloud seeding cause the deluge?
What did experts say about the storm systems that produced the rain?

Discussion

Have you ever experienced heavy rain in your country? How did it affect your daily life?
Do you think cloud seeding is a good way to solve water scarcity problems? Why or why not?
How do you think the UAE can prevent flooding in the future?
What are some ways to prepare for a heavy rain event?
Have you ever heard of cloud seeding before? What do you think about it?
How do you think climate change affects weather patterns?
Have you ever been in a situation where a natural disaster disrupted your travel plans?
Do you think it's important to have a backup plan for essential services like airports during natural disasters?
How can governments and communities work together to prepare for natural disasters?
What are some ways to mitigate the effects of natural disasters on infrastructure and the environment?

Vocabulary

Deluge - a large amount of water that floods an area
Acute - severe or intense
Disrupt - to interrupt or prevent something from continuing
Affiliated - connected or related to something
Analyzed - to examine or study something in detail
Speculation -a theory or guess without definite proof
Forecast- to predict or estimate something, especially the weather
Scarcity - a lack or shortage of something