Dubai property chief disputes flood claims: 'Flooding is common in Miami'

• Earlier this month, the chairman of Damac Properties, one of the largest private real estate developers in the United Arab Emirates, attempted to minimize the severity of the flooding in the country.
• Cars were abandoned on roads as flash floods caused water to engulf them, fully submerging some vehicles, leading to hundreds of drivers fleeing the area.
• The deluge caused widespread damage, shutting down schools and businesses, halting flights, and destroying cars and other property.

Earlier this month, Damac Properties chairman Hussain Sajwani stated that the flooding in the United Arab Emirates was only affecting "pockets of problems."

On April 16, the Gulf's normally arid desert received a year's worth of rainfall in a single day, surpassing its previous record of a single storm since 1949.

Cars were submerged in water as flash floods swept through some areas, leading hundreds of drivers to abandon their vehicles on roads. The deluge also closed schools and businesses, grounded hundreds of flights, and destroyed cars, businesses, and other property. Daily life was thrown into chaos as many residents lost power and running water or were trapped either inside their homes or in airports.

Sajwani, the CEO of Damac, acknowledged the chaos at the airport but stated that the UAE had recovered more quickly than other countries would have.

He told CNBC's Dan Murphy on Sunday that he believed the subject was exaggerated, honestly, during the World Economic Forum's "Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development" in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"If a mall is 3 million square feet and a 100 meter leakage occurs, it may cause some damage, but it won't be the end of the world, and it can be fixed the next day."

He arrived in Dubai from London just a few hours after the rains stopped and visited all the major properties that belong to his company.

Although there were some issues, I'm not denying it, but it was overly exaggerated. For instance, natural disasters like floods and house destruction occur frequently in Miami, and people are evacuated regularly. This is a result of climate change. Similarly, Dubai has experienced such storms, but they handled it effectively.

He later realized that lessons had to be learned because the unusual storm was the first to hit the country in 75 years.

In contrast to the typical annual rainfall of 5.5 to 8 inches, the eastern parts of the UAE received up to 250 millimeters (10 inches) of rain in just 24 hours.

The lack of drainage infrastructure and the extensive paving of urban areas in the country have resulted in flooding in many regions due to the inability of water to drain away.

The ongoing cleanup efforts in the country continue, as a multistory apartment building near the border of Dubai and Sharjah collapsed due to structural damage from a storm, prompting a full evacuation due to the risk of collapse.

Dubai developers reportedly vowed to take action and offered free repairs after the record rainfall. Damac, in particular, stated that it had worked tirelessly with local government authorities to assist residents and deployed several tankers to collect floodwaters.

Sajwani, a Damac official, stated to CNBC that his firm's properties were mostly unaffected by the flooding and there were "almost no incidents." However, he couldn't confirm whether residents would receive compensation.

"Our infrastructure has been done better than others, in my view. Two days before the storm, we had a Zoom call with our management from London to discuss an action plan. We agreed on a good plan and were ready for it."

Our impact was zero. I assure you, 98% of our units were intact.

—CNBC's Natasha Turak contributed to this article.