Joey Essex and James Argent have revealed their holiday hell at the hands of the devastation in flood-stricken Dubai.
The former TOWIE stars, aged 33 and 36 respectively, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday to shed light on how they are being affected by the terrifying weather alerts in the United Arab Emirates.
After jetting to Dubai to visit their friend and former co-star Tom Pearce, the duo revealed they awoke to Joey’s room flooding while he was shooting content, leading to James being forced to crawl on his hands and knees to save furniture.
This week, Dubai fell victim to the heaviest rain ever recorded in the desert nation. More than 140 mm of rain soaked Dubai on Tuesday, almost as much as what falls there in a year-and-a-half leading to a host of stars sharing pictures of the damage.
Arg revealed the duo are set to fly back on Saturday and he ‘cannot wait’ to get on the plane, while Joey claimed he had no awareness of government warnings.
Joey Essex and James Argent have revealed their holiday hell at the hands of the devastation in flood-stricken Dubai
The former TOWIE stars, aged 33 and 36 respectively, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday to shed light on how they are being affected by the terrifying weather alerts in the United Arab Emirates
Explaining their holiday of horrors, a shocked Arg said: ‘We got woke up by our mate Tom Pearce to say the apartment was flooding downstairs’, while Joey added: ‘It was actually my room that flooded.’
Arg continued: ‘He was shooting content while I was on my hands and knees trying to save the furniture. We managed to get to the local shopping mall and we got stuck there for hours. We Had to wade our way home…
‘Flooring was caving in, it was quite scary to be honest. It’s meant to be the best time of year to come. You don’t expect these sort of things to happen on your holiday.
Joey went on: – ‘Apparently there was a warning but the only warning I got was Tom Pearce on his hands and knees in my room at 8am.’
Despite being the holiday of a lifetime destination, Arg admitted he was desperate to get home, saying: ‘We’ve got a flight home on Saturday and I can’t wait to get on it.’
Dubai travel authorities today urged travellers to stay away from the airport after the United Arab Emirates was battered by more than a year and a half’s worth of rain in just a few hours.
The desert city-state yesterday suffered horrendous floods which swamped the airport and many of the surrounding roads, forcing dozens of flights to be cancelled as travellers crammed into the concourse to shelter from the torrential downpour.
Shocking videos shared on social media showed how cars were filled with water, forcing hundreds of motorists to abandon their vehicles and swim to safety. Some cars were completely submerged, with the top of their roofs barely breaking the water’s surface.
Joey shared images of their nightmare scenario
A statement shared by Dubai airport operators on social media read: ‘We advise you NOT to come to the airport, unless absolutely necessary. Flights continue to be delayed and diverted’
Some wealthy drivers in luxury cars bragged of ‘floating’ their way through the carnage – but most saw their vehicles stall as they became stuck in the deluge.
Rainwater also poured into homes, pushing people out of their houses and into the streets to seek shelter in higher structures.
Meanwhile, footage from inside the airport – the world’s busiest for international travel – showed passengers sleeping on the floor as others were turned away from the terminal.
Standing water lapped on taxiways as aircraft came in to land, forcing operators to completely close the airport for almost an hour. The facility quickly reopened but the schedule has descended into chaos with dozens more flights disrupted.
A statement shared by Dubai airport operators on social media read: ‘We advise you NOT to come to the airport, unless absolutely necessary. Flights continue to be delayed and diverted.
The news comes after fellow former TOWIE star Dan Osborne, his wife Jacqueline Jossa, their two daughters Ella, nine, and Mia, five, and his son Teddy, 10, were left stranded, according to The Sun, amid chaos at the airport.
Some wealthy drivers in luxury cars bragged of ‘floating’ their way through the carnage – but most saw their vehicles stall as they became stuck in the deluge
A source told the publication: ‘Dan and Jacqueline took the kids on a break to Dubai and it’s ended up being a nightmare…
‘They’ve been trapped by the storms and are concerned about getting home. The airport is chaos. They’ve hunkered down at their hotel and are hoping for the best.’
Dan captured the scenes from their hotel room in a dramatic Instagram video that showed the severe weather.
The former TOWIE star, 32, took to his Story to post an update showing the family waiting out the weather in their hotel.
Meanwhile, footage from inside the airport – the world’s busiest for international travel – showed passengers sleeping on the floor as others were turned away from the terminal
The news comes after fellow former TOWIE star Dan Osborne, his wife Jacqueline Jossa, their two daughters Ella, nine, and Mia, five, and his son Teddy, 10, were left stranded, according to The Sun , amid chaos at the airport
