Dubai on Sunday was almost unrecognizable.
On winter weekends, peak tourist season, the city’s beaches, shopping malls, and hotel brunches are usually packed. Instead, the highways were mostly empty and the skies were devoid of the constant stream of planes taking off and landing. Dubai Marine, usually buzzing with yachts and boat parties, sat unusually quiet.
For many residents, it felt like a repeat of the coronavirus lockdown six years ago, when one of the world’s busiest transportation hubs suddenly went quiet. The city’s schools have moved online again and families are staying indoors.
“It’s like the coronavirus days: quiet, sunny, birds chirping, no traffic, no planes,” said Paul Devitt, a CNN videographer in Abu Dhabi.
Some residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up. Grocery delivery apps reported delays as demand surged. The streets were empty, even in areas that are usually crowded into the evening.
With the UAE’s airspace closed, some people drove to quieter parts of the country. In Hatta, near the Omani border, at least one hotel turned a conference room into a makeshift shelter for tourists who checked out but were unable to fly home. Some of the newly arrived guests were said to be relocating their families from hard-hit areas of Dubai.
Some crossed overland to Oman, the only country in the region unaffected by Saturday’s Iranian attack, at least initially. But on Sunday, Omani authorities announced that two drones had targeted the country’s ports.
Dubai, a city that prides itself on safety and stability, has no public air raid shelters. Many residents instead spent Saturday night in underground parking lots. Parents shielded their anxious children from the reality of an explosion overhead.
Several people told their young sons and daughters that the explosions were either Ramadan fireworks or cannons, traditionally celebrated during iftar in Muslim countries.
Eleni Giakos contributed to this report.
