Flooding in Dubai, 2024
If you’ve ever imagined the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as forever sun-drenched and dry, recent flash floods may challenge that mental image. In just the past year, cities across MENA—from Dubai to Amman—have found themselves underwater after sudden, massive storms. These deluges aren’t freak weather—they’re a warning. And they’re finally forcing governments to rethink how cities are built, how water is managed, and how communities can adapt to climate change. We learn from an earthquake in Afghanistan that earthen buildings need to be retrofitted. What more can we learn?
A perfect storm of climate change, rapid urban growth, and geography is worsening flash flood risk across MENA:
- Climate volatility: As temperatures rise, rainstorms become more intense. Dubai recently received double its annual rainfall in just 24 hours—an unprecedented event that shut down airports and submerged neighborhoods. Similar events have struck Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.
- Concrete jungles: Urban sprawl is replacing absorbing soil with impermeable concrete. Cities like Amman and Riyadh lack adequate drainage, causing stormwater to rush into streets rather than soak into the sand and soil.
- Wadi danger zones: MENA’s dry riverbeds—wadis—can become deadly torrents during heavy rainfall. In conflict-ridden places like Libya and Yemen, flash floods worsen humanitarian crises.
Flash floods are no longer seen as once-in-a-lifetime disasters—they’re becoming recurring disruptors that demand new thinking:
- Risk mapping ushers in smarter planning: Oman is actively mapping flood zones, classifying areas into high, medium, and low risk. Officials there are proposing 18 dams in vulnerable wadis to buffer future floods.
- Regional cooperation is emerging: The newly proposed MENA-WaFFNet (MENA Flash Flood Network) aims to unify scientific efforts across countries—Morocco to UAE—improving how flash floods are predicted, monitored, and managed.
- New tools are enabling early warnings: Programs like MEACAM offer real-time flood predictions to governments and communities, helping save lives before waters rise.
These policy shifts—from structural flood controls to science-backed warning systems—can change everything:
- Safer urban design: Building flood-aware infrastructure—like absorptive pavement, green spaces, and smart drainage—can reduce damage and save lives.
- Community resilience: Flood maps, early warnings, and local awareness empower residents to act before disaster strikes.
- Climate readiness: Managing water wisely in flash flood scenarios complements drought planning and secures the delicate balance of desert-edge living.
Flash floods are teaching us that in MENA’s rapidly changing climate, ignoring water management is no longer an option. Every flood is a lesson—and now, that lesson is reaching city halls and planning ministries. Governments are finally acknowledging that deserts can drown. From dams to data networks, policy is finally catching up—and future-proofing may become the norm, not the exception.
