protos.com
The Dubai leg of ‘premier’ global crypto conference series TOKEN2049 is facing massive disruption after it was hit by a heavy storm that reportedly flooded the event and the wider city.
TOKEN2049, which is scheduled to run until April 21, bills itself as one of the most esteemed crypto conferences out there and boasts speakers including Peter McCormack, Vitalik Buterin, and Dovey Wan.
However, conference goers face being left underwater after severe storms battered the UAE, grounding flights and prompting authorities to warn residents to stay in their homes. According to the National Centre of Meteorology ‘hazardous weather events’ will continue until Wednesday.
Visitors have shared footage of the devastation caused by the storm, with X users posting pictures and videos of flooded streets and water-logged cars slowly moving through Dubai. One joked, “Come to Dubai, huge liquidity pool 🌊,” while another said, “GM Dubai, surfing over to @token2049.”
One X user also filmed part of the conference and reported that the event “got liquidated.” When asked to clarify the situation, TOKEN2049 told Protos, “Entry and exit to Dubai is unaffected and TOKEN2049 Dubai will proceed as scheduled.”
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Organizers also posted a poll today asking how conference goers planned to travel. The poll included a ‘boat’ option that is currently leading the poll with 40% of the vote. The tweet also stressed, “Dry and sunny weather” is forecast during the scheduling of the event.
Dubai not prepared for flash floods
Flash floods previously hit Dubai in July 2022, resulting in the death of seven migrant workers and the evacuation of over 3,000 homes. According to the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology, climate change is behind the increasingly extreme weather.
In 2022, an Urban designer/planner told Climate Home News that they didn’t think Dubai had any plans to equip urban cities for flooding. “They have money so they can help with the damages but I think that is the whole plan right now.”
One victim affected by the 2022 floods told the publisher, “I think heavy rains show the country’s strongest and weakest points. They are so capable of offering help and saving people but there are no plans to prepare for this type of weather, which is rare but happening more and more now.”