Desert city of Dubai floods as UAE hit by heaviest rainfall in 75 years. City records over 142mm of rain in a day, about as much as it expects in a year and a half, as rain floods highways and homes

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1. At least one person was killed after a 70-year-old man was swept away in his car in Ras Al-Khaimah, one of the country’s seven emirates, police said.

   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 94.7 millimeters — or 3.73 inches — of rain at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates.

   Some inland areas of the UAE recorded more than 80mm (3.2in) of rain over 24 hours to 8am 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.