The floods caused authorities to cancel school and the government to institute remote work again for Wednesday.

Heavy rains have hit the United Arab Emirates, flooding major highways, inundating homes and businesses, and disrupting flights at Dubai International Airport – in what the government has described as the largest amount of rainfall ever recorded in the country in the past 75 years.

The state-run WAM news agency called the rain “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.”

The rains began on Monday night, and by Tuesday evening, more than 142mm (5.59in) had soaked the desert city of Dubai – normally the average amount it gets in a year and a half.

An average year sees 94.7mm (3.73in) of rain at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates.

Shocking video showed the tarmac of the airport underwater on Tuesday as massive aircraft attempt to navigate floodwaters. Large jets looked more like boats moving through the flooded airport as water sprayed in their wake and waves rippled through the deep water.

The airport ended up halting arrivals Tuesday night and passengers struggled to reach terminals through the floodwater covering surrounding roads.

Disruption to airport operations continued into Wednesday, with access roads blocked by flooding and multiple airlines, including flag carrier Emirates, reporting flight delays. Budget airline Flydubai canceled all flights until 10 a.m. local time Wednesday.

Dubai International Airport acknowledged Wednesday morning that the flooding had left “limited transportation options” and affected flights as aircraft crews couldn’t reach the airfield.

“Recovery will take some time. We thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through these challenges,” the airport said on X (formerly Twitter).

Some inland areas of the UAE recorded more than 80mm (3.2in) of rain over 24 hours to 8 a.m. Tuesday, approaching the annual average of about 100mm. Rain is unusual in the UAE, on the arid Arabian Peninsula, but occurs periodically during the cooler winter months.

Homes were flooded and vehicles were abandoned on roadways across Dubai as authorities sent tanker trucks into the streets to pump away the water. Many roads and other areas lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall.

Flagship shopping centres Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both suffered flooding, with ankle-deep water in at least one Dubai Metro station, according to images posted on social media.

The National Centre for Meteorology “urged residents to take all the precautions … and to stay away from areas of flooding and water accumulation” in a post on X.

Schools were shut across the UAE and were expected to remain closed on Wednesday. Dubai’s government also extended remote working for its employees into Wednesday.

Like the rest of the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, Dubai has a hot and dry climate. As such, rainfall is infrequent and in many areas there is limited infrastructure such as drainage to handle extreme events.

The rain that plunged Dubai underwater is associated with a larger storm system traversing the Arabian Peninsula and moving across the Gulf of Oman. This same system is also bringing unusually wet weather to nearby Oman and southeastern Iran.

Rain is expected to taper off in the region, but a few showers may linger on Wednesday before dry weather returns.