Cryptocurrency aficionados flying into Dubai this week were looking forward to a few days in the desert sunshine enjoying a series of high-profile crypto events and some glamorous afterparties.
Instead, many have been plunged into a nightmare. The United Arab Emirates has been lashed by the heaviest rainfall the country has seen for 75 years, with some areas seeing over 10 inches of precipitation in under 24 hours, the state’s media office said in a statement Tuesday. Flash flooding around Dubai saw roadways completely submerged and the city’s airport warned travelers to stay away while flights were delayed and diverted.
After the rains began late Monday, the downpour continued until more rain had fallen on Dubai in 24 hours than the region typically records in a year, according to the Associated Press. The timing coincided with the arrival of crypto enthusiasts heading to conferences including Blockchain Life and TOKEN2049 being held in Dubai this week.
The Blockchain Life Forum warned attendees that roads to its venue were closed and said the “venue is not equipped to handle such weather.” It then rescheduled its opening Wednesday.
One blockchain enthusiast expressed exasperation about the timing of the floods. “Unsure if there’s any stronger proof that God hates cryptocurrency than flooding a desert country when its adherents arrive,” one attendee wrote, alongside a photo of an SUV submerged to the top of its wheels.
“Me otw to token2049 side events,” another captioned a video of a man paddling through what appeared to be a flooded parking lot. One crypto entrepreneur joked that he is “surfing” through the desert to get to TOKEN2049. Even the event’s organizers got in on the act Wednesday by running an X poll asking how people are “getting around Dubai”—respondents selected “boat” as the most popular option.
“This Lamborghini is swimming bro!” influencer Crypto Bitlord yelled in a video Wednesday showing him driving through water. “This car is getting swept bro, what the hell’s doing on?!”
At least one person, a man in his 70s, died in the UAE when his car was caught in flash flooding in the city of Ras Al Khaimah to the north of Dubai, according to The National. The situation was even more severe in the UAE’s eastern neighbor, Oman, where at least 20 people have died in recent days as a result of the weather, according to the Times of Oman.
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