Lack of storm drains means Dubai sees persistent flooding

When record downpours sent water flooding into his Dubai home, Mr Riaz Haq expected the water level to drop once it stopped raining. But instead of falling, the water kept rising.

"We went to bed, the water was half a metre," the British lawyer said, recalling the April 16 tempest that flooded homes, malls, offices and roads.

"We woke up and it was one metre. My cars were submerged, water to our waist. Everything is ruined." Mr Haq, his wife and their dog spent more than two days trapped on the upper floor of their twostorey home before they were finally rescued by a neighbour's boat on April 18.

The couple, who were able to salvage only some bread and snacks, did not eat for most of that time, surviving on a few bottles of water.

"Fridge, freezer, even my car was floating. Everything was floating," he told AFP. "I had a brand new car. It's all ruined." He added: "It's a natural disaster situation. No one was prepared for this level of carnage." During their ordeal, Mr Haq, his wife and their neighbours - about 18 families in a suburban residential community were too scared to wade out through the waisthigh, smelly water, fearing electrocution.