Dubai: Heavy rains gave a reality check to Dubai and other emirates bringing normal life to a standstill today and crippling trade and business activities.

Waterlogging kept people indoors as absence of proper storm water drains hit the city. Traffic often on a crawl on even normal days were in total disorder as vehicles got stranded on the roads or got into umpteen minor accidents.

Several schools including the Indian High School, Dubai which has over 8000 students, have declared a holiday today. Attendance in offices was thin as people got delayed on the way.

More than 500 accidents were reported only in Dubai and two persons were killed in Abu Dhabi in road accidents. Dubai police got 12000 emergency calls, most of them related to flooding and waterlogging. The state run Rashid Hospital in Dubai alone received 29 injured people from 22 road accidents yesterday.

Showers are forecast for today though the sky is expected to clear up a bit tomorrow, according to weather reports.

Outbound flights from several airports in UAE were delayed. In Dubai the area between the airport and aircraft was flodded affecting clearance of luggage. Traffic snarls help up airline crews.

Millions of dollars worth of damage and loss to business was reported as trade activities were badly affected by the heavy downpour.

Source : UNI