Dubai on Monday announced an $8 billion plan for a stormwater runoff system, two months after an unprecedented deluge and widespread flooding brought the desert state to a standstill.
The rainwater drainage network announced by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on social media platform X is set to be completed by 2033 with construction to start immediately.
"It will cover all areas of Dubai and will absorb more than 20 million cubic meters of water per day," Sheikh Mohammed said of the plan for Dubai, the futuristic business hub of the United Arab Emirates.
It "will increase the capacity of rainwater drainage in the emirate by 700 percent and enhance the emirate's readiness to face future climate challenges," he said.
Record rains lashed the UAE on April 16, flooding homes and turning streets into rivers. The downpour, worsened by a lack of storm drains, hobbled Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international passengers.
The rainfall was the heaviest the UAE's seen since records began 75 years ago.
The World Weather Attribution group said global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions "most likely" exacerbated the intense rains that also hit the neighboring sultanate of Oman, where 21 people died.
