Rahul Vaidya compares Dubai rains to Mumbai flood: 'There was so much confusion'

On Tuesday, April 16, Dubai witnessed a heavy downpour, leading to flooding all across the city. Amid that, singer Rahul Vaidya’s social media post, where he was seen walking in knee-deep water, left fans concerned about his well-being. IndiaToday.in reached out to the Bigg Boss 14 finalist, who informed that he was in Kolkata, ready to perform in the evening. Recalling the harrowing time he faced, Rahul compared Dubai’s catastrophe to Mumbai’s 2005 floods and said there was a lot of ‘confusion and panic.’

Vaidya told IndiaToday.in, “These moments make you realise how unpredictable nature can be. Mumbai has been dealing with heavy rains for years, but I did not face any major crisis until that day. Out of nowhere, every corner was flooded and the city was brought to a halt. Similarly, people in Dubai have never experienced this kind of rain and flood. It was the first time and hence, there was so much confusion and panic.”Â

The singer further expressed surprise at how the meteorological department did not issue a warning about the calamity: “If people had an idea this would be so bad, they would have planned their day better. However, they had no prior information at all.”

Narrating his experience of the flood, Rahul Vaidya shared that it was around three in the afternoon when the city became overcast. As a Mumbaikar, he was enjoying the lightning and showers until he realised his driver was five hours late.Â

Rahul Vaidya

“He was stuck in the traffic and wasn’t moving at all. Since I was close to Dubai Mall, I decided to walk there to kill some time but had no idea about what I was set to witness. One of the fanciest malls in the world was shutting shops because of a bad leakage. All the stores were putting plastic sheets on their products to prevent them from getting ruined. The parking lot was flooded, no taxi, and thousands were waiting there to get back home,” he shared.Â

Rahul Vaidya

Given he had a flight to take, we wondered if he too was worried or scared about the situation. Rahul replied, “Honestly, I had a show today, otherwise I wouldn’t have flown out in that situation. The airport was like a fish market with people bustling around. Flights were getting cancelled; the runway was packed, and the incoming flights were directed to Saudi Arabia. Also, there were no proper instructions and everyone felt disabled about the situation.”

“I have family friends Mansi and Rishi, who arranged a car for me to reach the airport. On the way, I also gave a lift to a couple of fellow Indians, who were walking towards the airport. Cars were sunk in the water and people actually had to walk with their luggage on the road, in the rain. Fortunately, as humans, we tend to stand by each other during these moments of crisis and that helped everyone sail through,” the singer concluded.Â