The real scene of a shark swimming in a shopping center amid floods in Dubai

Images of sharks swimming in shopping malls have gone viral on social networks after the rain caused serious flooding in Dubai. How real is this image?

On April 16, the city of Dubai, the financial center of the Middle East, was paralyzed due to torrential rain causing flooding throughout the United Arab Emirates ( UAE). The sudden exposure to heavy rain caused almost the entire city of Dubai to be paralyzed and submerged in water.

Guardian reported that heavy rain poured down on Dubai, United Arab Emirates, flooding major highways and disrupting flights at Dubai International Airport.

Dubai recorded more than 142mm of rain in a day, as much water as fell in a year and a half. This is the heaviest rainfall in the past 75 years.

Video on social media showed dark clouds covering the sky over Dubai as heavy rain poured down. Streets, commercial centers and homes were seriously flooded. Police and rescue workers drove through flooded roads and mobilized tankers to pump water for rescue.

Dubai - like the rest of the United Arab Emirates - has a hot and dry climate. As a result, rainfall in Dubai is irregular and the infrastructure is not ready to handle extreme events.

Torrential rains like those on April 16 will become more frequent because of human-caused climate change. As the atmosphere continues to warm, it can absorb more moisture, like a towel, and then pour it down in the form of more extreme torrential rains.

On social networking sites, images of streets, airports and many residential areas in Dubai being submerged by water have attracted much attention from netizens. Even an image posted by an account showing the scene of sharks swimming in a shopping center, after water flooded the aquarium here, causing the fish to escape, was also shared on X and caused a stir. Many people are concerned.

However, what is the truth about this photo?

According to Yahoo!, this photo was actually taken in the escalator area near Union Station in the underground PATH system in Toronto (Canada) during the station flood on June 1, 2012. Although it looks quite consistent, this is actually a product of photoshop technology.

"The shark photo is a hoax. I created it as a joke during the flooding at Union Station in Toronto. The secret to creating good photos is to make the viewer ask questions about its realism because it looks so natural." - said the photo owner.

Dubai International Airport - the world's busiest airport for international travel, was also underwater as giant planes tried to navigate the flooded waters. Dubai International Airport's website showed dozens of flights delayed or canceled on April 16, with affected destinations including India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UK.

The UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority urged people to stay home, and that people should park their cars in safe and elevated locations, away from flood-prone areas and other areas. where water can accumulate.

Previously, the UAE's neighbor, Oman, also suffered a similar situation, leaving 13 people dead in flash floods, many students trapped on buses, and many vehicles swept away.

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