SINGAPORE - Being early is a virtue, but it has turned out to be quite an experience for Singaporean Daniel Lee, who found himself wading knee-deep in Dubai’s flooded streets for hours after arriving there in good time for work.

The one silver lining was that he was at least wearing comfortable running shoes.

He joins crypto millionaires in facing flood-related woes after torrential rain brought parts of Dubai to a standstill.

Mr Lee, who heads Web3 at European payments bank Banking Circle, is in Dubai for a real-world asset tokenisation event, among other conferences.

He told The Straits Times that he arrived on April 14, and had to trek more than 10km in waters up to his knees on April 17.

“The trek took about three hours but the whole journey was much longer as I stopped and waited in a restaurant in the hopes that cabs would be available. I left the international financial centre around 6pm and got back to the hotel just before 3am,” Mr Lee said.

He added that there were areas where the water would be up to the waist, but “thankfully, a kind soul used his four-wheel drive to help us get across”.

The heaviest rains on record battered parts of the United Arab Emirates on April 16, causing flash floods in some areas and triggering a gridlock in Dubai.

Dubai International Airport was hit by the deluge and had to suspend operations, disrupting flights at one of the world’s busiest airfields for international travel.

The flooding could not have been more untimely, observers said, adding that it has marred key blockchain and crypto events this week, including the popular conference Token2049, which spans two days from April 18 and typically draws thousands.

In photos and videos sent to ST by some attendees, some roads and luxury cars were submerged, while others were not and vehicles could still move.

Co-founder of blockchain network HeLa Labs Ting Shang Ping, who arrived in Dubai on April 17, said the local metro and buses were shut down and everyone had to take cabs out of the airport.

Many vehicles were also damaged, and only the minivans and sport utility vehicles were left standing or moving, he said.

Mr Ting added: “The waiting time was one to two hours and there were private or unlicensed cars that offered to take us at four to five times the taxi price. In the end, we carpooled.

“Cars were going against the traffic at times as they didn’t want to go through some waters,” he said.

Mr Lasanka Perera, chief executive of Independent Reserve Singapore, told ST on April 18 that although the rain has stopped, much of the city is still underwater.

“If you manage to get a taxi, they are charging 500 dirhams (S$185) to 1,000 dirhams for short distances,” he said, adding that more than a dozen people are reported to have died due to electrocution while walking in flood waters.

Mr Perera added that the crypto conferences have not been as expected, and that attendance has dropped dramatically, by about half in some instances.

Flights from Singapore to Dubai were either cancelled, delayed or rerouted as a result of the torrential rain.

Digital asset firm Anchored Coins’ founder and former Nominated MP Calvin Cheng is counting his blessings. His flight was cancelled on the day of the event, and he decided to stay put in Singapore.

“It is a life experience I don’t need. Glad I escaped, otherwise I would’ve been trapped in Muscat. The people who were on SQ494 and were diverted to Muscat on April 16 are still stuck there,” he told ST.

Other global crypto personalities and millionaires were not spared from the havoc, including Ms Dovey Wan, founding partner of crypto investment firm Primitive Ventures.

She was originally slated to speak at Token2049, and joked in an earlier social media post that she was “forced to take a vacation” as her meetings were cancelled.

Despite the woes, some participants are seeing the lighter side of things, flooding social media with memes and puns.

Said one X user in a tweet: “Lots of liquidity available at Token2049 (so) many blockchain projects (can) stay afloat.”

In another post, user 0xbury made a reference to the “boat” design of Marina Bay Sands, saying Singapore is ready for Token2049.

“Singapore, always ahead of pretty much any other place on earth, is ready for any downpour.”

Token2049 is held annually in Dubai and Singapore.