A year’s worth of rain unleashed immense flash flooding in Dubai Tuesday as roads turned into rivers and rushing water inundated homes and businesses.

Shocking video showed the tarmac of Dubai International Airport – recently crowned the second-busiest airport in the world – underwater as massive aircraft attempt to navigate floodwaters. Large jets looked more like boats moving through the flooded airport as water sprayed in their wake and waves rippled through the deep water.

Disruption to airport operations continued into Wednesday, with access roads blocked by flooding and multiple airlines including flag carrier Emirates reporting flight delays. Budget airline Flydubai canceled all flights until 10 a.m. local time Wednesday.

Dubai International Airport also advised people to “NOT to come to the airport, unless absolutely necessary,” and said “flights continue to be delayed and diverted.”

The airline said passengers who were already in transit will continue to be processed but warned that customers can expect delays to departures and arrivals.

One stranded passenger told CNN he spent the night at the airport with hundreds of others after flying in from Hong Kong late Tuesday because there were no transport options out of the terminal.

“The airport is literally filling up and there’s nowhere for anyone to go,” said Bilal, 25, who only wished to be identified by his first name.

Nearly 4 inches (100 mm) of rain fell over the course of just 12 hours on Tuesday, according to weather observations at the airport – around what Dubai usually records in an entire year, according to United Nations data.

The rain fell so heavily and so quickly that some motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles as the floodwater rose and roads turned into rivers.

Video from social media showed water rushing through a major shopping mall and inundating the ground floor of homes.

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