Storms in Dubai: what a buyer should check after the April flooding

On 16 April 2024 Dubai experienced record rainfall. Roads and streets flooded, an orange alert was declared, public transport was restricted, and government bodies and some companies moved to remote working. One person died when their car was swept away.

Why the city is structurally unprepared for this

Storm drainage is designed for a climate norm. In a desert climate the rainfall norm is close to zero, so drainage systems here are historically minimal — they are not sized for a volume that another climate would consider heavy but ordinary rain.

That is not negligence but a normal engineering compromise: building drainage for a once-in-decades event makes no economic sense. The problem is that such events have become more frequent.

What to check when choosing a home

• The underground car park and its level. Basement levels flood first, and damage to cars is the most common loss.
• The topography of the plot. A building in a hollow collects water from the whole area; a couple of metres of elevation decides a great deal.
• A single access road. A community with one entrance is cut off entirely if that entrance floods.
• The age and quality of the roof and glazing. Leaks after heavy rain are a characteristic complaint in buildings where that was skimped on.
• How the management company behaved at the time. That is a verifiable fact: ask residents or look at reviews of the specific building from that period.

Proportion

Turning a weather event into an argument against the market would be wrong: the city resumed working within days, and the authorities subsequently announced investment in modernising the storm drainage. But ignoring it when choosing a specific building is also a mistake. The difference between two neighbouring buildings in that situation can be substantial.