reason why I should always be shutter ready

by Grace on March 26, 2008

Thud! Did you hear that? You just landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Just when I thought what to write, a large explosion that shook windows and the ground occurred in Al Quoz Industrial area producing a massive black mushroom cloud in the sky this morning.

fire in al quoz

~ smoke as seen from Al Nahda Road ~

We did not hear the explosion as we are not living near Al Quoz but the billowing smoke is very visible from our house and on the road on our way to work.

fire in al quoz

~ thick black smoke as seen in Salahuddin Road in Deira, near my office ~

Now, what exactly happened is still unclear but seems like a firecracker factory caught fire and exploded. Major roads near the area including Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road suffered severe traffic because of the incident. Injuries were reported but authorities have yet to confirm. Will post more about this later.

***** UPDATE *****

I went to the Immigration Department today to arrange visa amendment status of my husband and as soon as got out of the car, I was greeted by a really bad smell that looked like burning plastic. I can’t really describe it. The smoke was thicker there also because Al Quoz is near.

Gulf News had an update of the story with some shocking photos. A revelation that what I saw from my place earlier this morning was very far from what really happened in the affected area!

fire in al quoz

Witnesses said the explosion sounded like a volcanic eruption and from the looks of this mushroom cloud, I’d say, it really looks like a volcano has erupted!

fire in al quoz

This was the view of the sky taken by a photographer while facing Sheikh Zayed Road:

fire in al quoz

Last three photos taken from Gulf News.

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{ 9 comments }

1 kailani March 26, 2008 at 2:15 pm

What a scary sight! I hope everyone is okay.

BTW, love the new look. Looks like you’ve been very busy while I’ve been gone. Thank you again for guest posting. You were a huge hit!

kailani’s last blog post..WW: Back Where I Belong

2 samulli March 26, 2008 at 2:31 pm

Gee, girl, you do live in an interesting place. We never have anything like that happening around my neck of the woods. :wink:
Then again, we also don’t have a firecracker factory anywhere near…

samulli’s last blog post..You can come down now, Mom

3 Grace March 26, 2008 at 2:40 pm

Nothing is ever boring here!

4 Maria March 26, 2008 at 8:45 pm

WOW! Those are some scary photos!!! I read about that on the news. I hope no one was hurt!!!

I do very much love the photo below, though. Beautiful!!!

~Maria

5 Jen @ One Moms World March 28, 2008 at 4:31 am

OMG hun! What a scary sight that had to be. So glad you all were safe from harm.

Jen @ One Moms World’s last blog post..Jen Is Joining the Ultimate Blog Party

6 Jennifer in OR March 28, 2008 at 10:02 am

Crazy! Glad you’re okay. Wear a mask! I keep seeing Dubai pop up in the news lately…or has it always been in the news and I never noticed because I didn’t know anyone there?

Jennifer in OR’s last blog post..Christian Carnival CCXVII: Attributes of God Edition

7 mama meji March 28, 2008 at 7:25 pm

I saw it in the news and I thought of you. Glad you’re all okay.

mama meji’s last blog post..Thankful Thursday

8 art reproductions March 29, 2008 at 12:19 am

Those are some amazing photos! Whenever I am lucky enough to have my camera, I get so excited that the pictures are blurry.

9 MAGGIE AT COFFEESHOPMAFIA April 8, 2008 at 2:55 am

so scary.

MAGGIE AT COFFEESHOPMAFIA’s last blog post..Garden

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