travel clinic market mall

You are using an outdated browser. Upgrade your browser today or install Google Chrome Frame to better experience this site.

Find a Clinic

There are several places you can get vaccines and medicine before you travel.

Call your doctor or local health department to see if they can provide pre-travel advice, vaccines, and medicines.

List of health departments

If you want to see a travel medicine specialist, the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) can help you find a clinic.

Directory of travel clinics

If you need yellow fever vaccine you must get vaccinated at an authorized yellow fever vaccine clinic. Many of these clinics also give other shots and medicines.

Yellow fever vaccine clinic search

Find where you can get a COVID-19 vaccine in your area.

Need to get tested? Find a COVID-19 testing clinic .

• Find out what vaccines you need for your destination
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Traveler Advice
• Clinician Tools and Resources

CDC provides these links as a convenience to international travelers. CDC does not endorse, recommend, or favor any clinics on these lists, nor does the appearance of a clinic on these lists imply a guarantee of service quality.

File Formats Help:

• Adobe PDF file
• Microsoft PowerPoint file
• Microsoft Word file
• Microsoft Excel file
• Audio/Video file
• Apple Quicktime file
• RealPlayer file
• Zip Archive file

Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
• Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
• You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
• CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.

• Medical Departments & Centers
• Infectious Diseases

Travel Medicine Clinics Overview

A visit to a Mayo Clinic travel medicine clinic before you depart on an international trip can help ensure a safer, smoother experience.

If you're planning a trip overseas, make one of your first stops a consultation with specialists in the travel medicine clinics at Mayo's campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. Availability of services may vary among locations. Please confirm when you request an appointment.

You meet with a travel medicine specialist who is knowledgeable about current health risks worldwide and who will promote safe and healthy travels by offering counseling, recommendations, vaccinations, prescriptions and, if needed, a referral to another expert for complex medical conditions.

Virtual visits

You might be eligible for virtual pretravel consultations. If you're interested in this option, talk with the patient appointment specialist when you contact us to schedule an appointment.

COVID-19 and international travel

International travel has become more complex due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some countries have exit and entry requirements. Your travel medicine specialist will be able to help you prepare for these requirements so that you have a smoother travel experience.

Before your trip

Schedule an appointment for a pretravel consultation with a Mayo Clinic travel medicine clinic well before you depart so the travel medicine specialist can help you prepare. Ideally, this appointment would occur as soon as travel plans are established and at least two weeks — and preferably 4-8 weeks — before departure. When requesting an appointment for pretravel consultation, be prepared to inform the patient appointment specialist of the following:

• All countries being visited
• Dates and duration of travel
• Any unusual circumstances

At or preferably before the appointment, you will want to provide copies of all available immunization records (including the International Certificate of Vaccination, commonly referred to as the yellow card). Doing so will expedite your clinic visit and may decrease the number of vaccines you are advised to receive.

Your in-depth pre-travel consultation may include:

• A country-by-country assessment of all health risks specific for your travel itinerary, such as exotic infectious agents, altitude sickness and heat exhaustion
• A review of your medical and immunization history profile with advice for health promotion and illness prevention
• Advice for the high-risk traveler
• Immunization recommendations, counseling and administration of vaccines to prevent illnesses
• Vector precautions counseling
• Malaria prevention counseling, with prescriptions if needed
• Traveler's diarrhea counseling for prevention and self-treatment, with antibiotic prescription if needed
• Identification of health resources in the countries you'll be visiting
• Counseling on travel-related risks such as altitude sickness, with preventive prescriptions if needed
• An opportunity to ask questions about the unique health and safety concerns for your travel itinerary

You will leave your travel medicine clinic appointment with much helpful and up-to-date information.

After your trip

• Depending on where you're going and for how long, the travel clinic may recommend a routine follow-up evaluation after your return.
• If you return sick, the travel clinic staff members are Mayo Clinic infectious diseases experts who provide comprehensive post-travel consultations for evaluation and treatment of travel-related illness, including parasitic and other diseases common to tropical regions but uncommon in the United States.
• Mayo Clinic Travel Medicine Clinic
• 5881 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054
• Phone: 480-342-0115
• 4500 San Pablo Road Jacksonville, FL 32224
• Phone: 904-953-0774
• Mayo Clinic Travel and Geographic Medicine Clinic
• 200 First St. SW East 6A, Mayo Building Rochester, MN 55905
• Phone: 507-255-7763 (toll-fee)
• Tests & procedures
• Conditions treated
• Specialty groups
• Expertise & rankings
• Clinical trials
• Patient stories
• Costs & insurance
• News from Mayo Clinic

Travel Medicine Clinics

• Request an Appointment

Make twice the impact

Your gift can go twice as far to advance cancer research and care!

• Billing Information
• Community Engagement
• Emory Clinic
• Insurance Information
• Medical Records
• Medical Professionals
• News & Media
• Patient Portal
• Patients & Visitors

• Find a Provider
• Find a Location
• Centers & Programs
• ACL Program
• Adult Psychiatry
• Bariatric Centers & Weight Loss
• Brain Health
• Digestive Diseases
• Employer Health Solutions
• Joint & Cartilage Preservation Center
• Endocrinology
• General Surgery
• Heart & Vascular
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Laboratories
• Mental Health Services
• Obstetrics & Prenatal Care
• Orthopaedics, Sports & Spine
• Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation
• Primary Care (Family, Internal, Geriatrics)
• Radiology & Imaging
• Reproductive Health
• Sleep Center
• Transgender Care
• Urgent Care
• Vein Center
• Veterans Program
• Clinical Trials
• Financial Assistance
• Financial Clearance Policy
• Guest Services
• Language Interpretation Services
• LGBTQIA Cultural Competency
• Medicare Resources
• Mission & Values
• MyChart Patient Portal Help
• No Suprises Act Disclosure
• Non-Discrimination Policy
• Online Bill Pay
• Patient Privacy & Rights
• Patient Relations
• Price Transparency
• Visitor Policy
• Advanced Practice Provider Opportunities
• Nursing Opportunities
• View All Open Opportunities
• Benefits That Matter
• Emory Healthcare Communities
• Emory Healthcare Team Members Log In
• Nursing Residency
• Working at Emory

Emory TravelWell Center

Health services for international travelers.

If you are traveling internationally or returning from a long trip, it’s important that you are up to date on vaccinations and knowledgeable about travel-related health concerns. Access travel medicine services at Emory’s TravelWell Center.

We collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide the most up-to-date travel-related health care. We offer pre-travel consultations and expert evaluation and treatment for illnesses acquired abroad.

Important travel alerts:

• Travel and COVID-19
• Travel and Zika Virus

TravelWell Center Mission

The Emory TravelWell Center’s mission is to:

• Assist international travelers and institutions of all types in preparing for safe, enjoyable, and productive trips outside the U.S. with preventive vaccinations, medications, and advice for infectious, physical, and environmental hazards.
• Serve as an internationally recognized center for diagnosing and treating tropical and travel-related infections.
• Promote the science of travelers’ health, tropical medicine, and public health with training and research programs.

Travel Medicine Services for Individuals

We offer several travel medicine services for individuals. These include:

Pre-Travel Vaccinations and Consultations

Whether traveling abroad for business, service or pleasure, taking the proper precautions will help you have a safe, trouble-free, and successful journey. Our providers are recognized leaders in travel medicine. They can provide the appropriate travel vaccinations and prescriptions for your journey. They can also address any health-related questions or concerns about your trip.

Post-Travel Care and Tropical Diseases

Infections acquired overseas can be unusual and unfamiliar to physicians in the U.S. It’s critical—and often life-saving—to be evaluated by an expert in tropical diseases. Our infectious disease and tropical medicine-trained physicians have years of experience providing state-of-the-art care for those not feeling well after travel. Our affiliation with Emory University and collaborations with the CDC give us access to the country's most advanced diagnostic testing available.

Pre- and Post-Travel Physical Exams

Many international programs require physical exams and testing before travel. We provide these services and test for various infections among travelers returning from a long international trip or immigrants traveling from other countries.

Travel Medicine Services for Companies and Organizations

We work with many companies and other organizations that have international operations. If your institution has staff members who travel frequently, we can help keep your organization running smoothly.

Make an Appointment with Emory TravelWell Center

To make an appointment, please call 404-686-5885 .

Find Providers

Mychart patient portal.

‘Comfort of Recovery’ quilt display hosted by the Addiction Alliance of Georgia

/ Travel Medicine

Travel medicine

What to expect at your clinic visit.

Protect against travel related infections with vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization and other international travel authorities. We are a designated yellow fever center and provide prescriptions for travel-related conditions as appropriate.

Consultation includes: 

• Common health hazards at your destination, including prevention of insect- and water-borne illnesses and other transmittable infections 
• Air-travel-related conditions 
• Recent infectious outbreaks, health care standards and availability of health care at your destination 
• Safety and security alerts, safe and unsafe areas, political updates and emergency information 
• Personalized advice for those traveling with special needs, and children

Travelers receive an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) card with documentation of all vaccinations you receive in our clinic.

Preparing for your appointment

Appointments should be scheduled well in advance. Some immunizations are given in a series over a period of time and may take up to six months to complete. We review records of previous immunizations, and detailed travel itinerary.

Payment and insurance considerations

We accept cash, check or credit card. We provide travelers with a statement which may be submitted for insurance reimbursement. Payment is due at the time of service. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 616.391.2778 .

Let's Take the Next Step

We value the opportunity to meet you to talk about your needs and how we can best support your business goals.

• Jump to Cookie Consent

Help us improve your website experience! Take a brief survey >>

Visit the COVID Information Center >>

• MyChart Login
• Find a Location

Travel medicine

When you’re traveling abroad, you want every aspect of your trip to go well. Unfortunately, each year as many as 25 percent of Americans who travel abroad experience some type of illness during their trip. On a typical two-week trip, travelers can lose an average of three days because of illness.

The Edward-Elmhurst Health travel medicine specialists can help you take proactive steps to stay healthy and make most of your experience. Contact our travel medicine specialists at least six weeks before your departure , and we’ll customize a plan that prepares you for every place on your itinerary.

What to expect at the travel medicine clinic

When you visit our travel medicine clinic, you’ll consult with one of our specialists about your trip. The discussion will cover:

• All the places you’re visiting, the purpose and timing of your travels, and how long you plan to stay
• Activities you’re planning on your trip, such as mountain climbing or mission work
• Your vaccination and medical history, including allergies
• Your current medications

Travel medicine tailored to your needs

Based on your consultation, we will recommend the appropriate vaccines and prescriptions for your trip. Recommendations will be customized to your unique needs. For example, you may need medication to limit altitude sickness during a climbing expedition. You’ll also learn how to plan for water and food safety, protect yourself from disease-carrying mosquitoes, and deal with traveler’s diarrhea and other common ailments.

We carefully consider the risks and benefits of vaccines and medicines and, in some cases, provide an explanatory waiver rather than a vaccination. This document explains the decision not to give a vaccine, typically due to a person's age, medical condition or current medications.

Vaccines and immunizations

The Edward-Elmhurst travel medicine clinic offers the following vaccines:

• Hepatitis A and B
• Japanese encephalitis
• Yellow Fever*

*CDC Certified Yellow Fever Immunization site.

Certain vaccinations may require more than one dose and/or a follow-up consultation.

Make an appointment six weeks in advance

Travel medicine consultations must be scheduled in advance. A 4-6 week lead time is strongly recommended for most vaccinations, as there may be a waiting period before the vaccine becomes effective. Payment is due at the time of service. Most insurance companies do not reimburse for this service.

Services offered at:

Edward Hospital Campus 100 Spalding, Suite 212 Naperville, IL 60540

To schedule an appointment, call 630-527-7299 .

Sign up for our newsletter

If you have reached this screen, your current device or browser is unable to access the full Edward-Elmhurst Health Web site.

To see the full site, please upgrade your browser to the most recent version of Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer. If you cannot upgrade your browser, you can remain on this site.

This website uses cookies that measure website usage and help us give you the best experience. By continuing to use this website, you consent to this website’s use of these cookies and you accept and agree to our Privacy Statement and Terms of Use .

• Departments & Services
• Directions & Parking
• Medical Records
• Physical Therapy (PT)
• Primary Care

Header Skipped.

Department of Medicine

• Travel Clinic

Division of Infectious Diseases Travel Clinic

The Division of Infectious Diseases Travel Clinic is here to help you have a safer, healthier trip abroad. Our team offers pre-travel immunizations, vaccines and medications to prevent disease. We also consult on:

• Precautions to take when visiting certain countries
• Healthcare access abroad, medication schedule and other common travel-related issues
• The concerns of travelers who are pregnant, immunocompromised or have an underlying medical condition
• Managing environmental risks, including high-altitude travel
• COVID-related concerns

Information for Travelers

The following immunizations and vaccines are available at our clinic:

• COVID-19, primary and booster doses
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Japanese encephalitis
• Measles/mumps/rubella (MMR)
• Pneumococcus 
• Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (Tdap)
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Yellow Fever

We prescribe any medications needed for travel, including for the prevention of:

• Traveler's diarrhea
• Altitude sickness

Appointment charges include professional fees (for physician consultation) and may include immunization charges. Insurance typically covers 100% of the cost of immunizations, with some exceptions. 

Since these are preventive services, some health insurance plans do not cover the costs. We provide receipts to support claim reimbursement from a third party such as your insurance company. However, we strongly recommend checking with your insurance company prior to your appointment to confirm your plan covers travel medicine.

Please see the links below for information about international travel. Note: The Brigham does not maintain these websites and is not responsible for their content.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travelers' Health : This is a comprehensive guide on infectious diseases you may encounter while traveling, including COVID-19.
• Travel.State.gov : Hosted by the U.S. Department of State, this website includes travel advisories, details on getting a U.S. passport or visa and much more.
• International Society of Travel Medicine : Search for travel clinics in countries around the world.
• What Can I Bring? : Find out what items you can and cannot pack in your carry-on and checked baggage, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
• CDC Yellow Book : Learn about or purchase this book, which compiles the U.S. government's latest travel health guidelines.

Our staff includes doctors and nurse practitioners with expertise in infectious disease and travel medicine.

Jacob Johnson, MD

Travel Clinic Physician, Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

Catherine Franklin, NP

Travel Clinic Nurse Practitioner, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Mary W. Montgomery, MD

Travel Clinic Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital

We offer all our services at our three locations:

Brigham and Women's Hospital 45 Francis St., 2nd Floor – Lung Center C Boston, MA 02115 (Monday afternoons)

Brigham and Women’s Health Care Center, Chestnut Hill 850 Boylston St, Suite 130 Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (Wednesday afternoons)

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital 1153 Centre St., Suite 4F Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 (Thursday afternoons)

Appointments

To schedule an appointment at either location, please call 617-732-8881. We prefer to see travelers four to six weeks before departure when possible.

Learn more about Brigham and Women's Hospital

For over a century, a leader in patient care, medical education and research, with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery.

Stay Informed.   Connect with us.  

• X (formerly Twitter)

• Skip to main content
• Skip to site information

Language selection

Help us to improve our website. Take our survey !

Find a travel health clinic

It is recommended that you contact a doctor, nurse or health care provider, or visit a travel health clinic, preferably six weeks before you travel.

Travel health services are available in most communities or through your family doctor. One way to find a health care site that provides travel health services is through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s list of designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres. 

• Make an Appointment
• Get Care Today
• Find a Location
• Pay My Bill
• Thank My Caregiver
• Receive Online Care
• Shop the Gift Gallery

Central Minnesota Travel Medicine

Stay healthy while traveling.

When you are checking off your list of things to do before taking a trip outside of the country, don’t forget your Travel Medicine appointment.

We offer pre-travel counseling, required immunizations, water/food safety education, and other health-related traveling tips for people planning international travel.

Our Travel Medicine specialist reviews how your medical history relates to your specific travel plans. We’ll research where you are traveling and share with you the most up-to-date information, including:

• Immunizations and medications: what you may need and when you need it.
• Recent local health concerns: what’s the latest local health news?
• Dietary advice: what to eat and what to avoid.
• Availability of health care in the area: what’s available and when.
• Potential political unrest and other safety issues: how it could affect you.
• Follow-up care upon your return: scheduling it before you go.

Appointment Scheduling

Anyone requiring pre-travel immunizations should call to schedule an appointment. Many travel-related immunizations are needed at least 30 days prior to traveling . Make your travel medicine appointment as you begin to plan your trip. Ideally, it should be at least six weeks prior to your trip. The earlier the appointment, the more time immunizations have to take effect.

To schedule a Travel Medicine appointment: • St. Cloud and Sartell locations, call 320-200-3200 • Willmar location, call 320-441-5313

While many services are covered by insurance, it is important for you to check with your insurance provider to determine whether these travel medicine services are covered by your plan.

For more information about immunizations required for travel, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Travelers' Health website .

• Neurology Specialists
• Pediatricians

Travel Medicine

Our approach to care.

Whether you are going on vacation far from home or traveling internationally on business, it’s important to take care of your health. Our travel medicine services can provide you with information on preventive medication, food safety measures, and country-specific immunizations. Our travel clinics serve those who plan to be in an area with exposure to new and different diseases or illnesses. Providers can give you specific information on what vaccinations you will need. You need time to develop immunity or protection from your vaccine.

Be certain to go to the nearest travel clinic four to six weeks before your trip. Last-minute travelers should consult their doctor about which vaccinations to get.

Travel Medicine Services

Travel medicine deals with the health concerns of travelers. Travelers are offered support, education and vaccinations before leaving home. Travel medicine helps decrease the risk of acquiring an infectious disease abroad. Travel clinics are staffed by infectious disease specialists who make sure that travelers have the education and care they need prior to travel. Contact your local travel clinic if you want to be vaccinated against illnesses from other regions. Your provider may suggest:

• Vaccinations
• Malaria prevention
• Food and water precautions
• Education materials
• Prescriptions for preventive care

TravelWell Travel Clinic

Southern Maine Health Care

2 Medical Center Drive

Biddeford, ME 04005

• Phone: 207-294-8410

Maine Medical Center offers vaccinations for travel.

22 Bramhall St.,

Portland,  ME  04102

Phone: 207-662-2911

Maine Medical Partners Pediatric Travel Clinic

887 Congress Street, Suite 320,

Portland, ME  04102

Phone: 207-662-5522

·     

Pen Bay Medical Center's Travel Medicine Clinic

4 Glen Cove Drive, Suite 201,

Rockport, ME  04856

Phone : 207-301-5678

Related Providers

Leyla Azis, MD

• Infectious Disease

Thomas M Courtney, MD

Mark P Eggena, MD

• Infectious Disease |
• Internal Medicine

Matthew D Grunwald, MD

• Transplant Hepatology |
• Gastroenterology |

Alan E Kilby, MD

Cheryl A Liechty, MD

Michael P Madaio, DO

Martin W Moehlen, MD

Rachel Picone, DNP

• Family Nurse Practitioner |
• Nurse Practitioner, Women's Health

Edward F Pilkington III, MD

Kelly D Pizzo, MD

Stephen A. Rawlings, MD

Alana M Rose, FNP

• Nurse Practitioner, Family

Kinna Thakarar, DO

• Addiction Medicine |

Tiffany L Townsend, FNP

Emily V Wood, MD

Sophie L Woolston, MD

• Internal Medicine |

Christina F Yen, MD

Related locations.

Mid Coast Medical Group - Infectious Disease

• Phone: 207-373-1707
• Fax: 207-373-6475

MMP Adult Infectious Diseases

• Phone: 207-661-7901
• Fax: 207-661-7902

MMP Gilman Clinic

• Phone: 207-661-4400
• Fax: 207-810-2363

Pen Bay Medicine & Infectious Diseases

• Phone: 207-301-5678
• Fax: 207-301-5378

SMHC Infectious Disease/TravelWell

• Fax: 207-282-6037

Travel Immunizations

Are you going on an overseas business trip or your dream vacation? Get vaccinated at the Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic at least six weeks before traveling.

Travel Medications

Motion or altitude sickness, malaria, and traveler's diarrhea can ruin perfect travel plans. The Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic will prescribe medications to prevent or treat them.

Destination Hazards

Entry requirements.

Whether it is international or routine adult immunization you need, the Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic will help you meet the requirements for your travel destination.

Customized Travel Advice

Need specialized health and safety advice about extended business travel or an adventure trip? The Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic will provide it.

Travel Information

The Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic will augment online health and safety recommendations with personalized, destination-specific information.

A Safe & Healthy Travel Experience

The Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic (TAIC) has been serving travelers and overseas employees of international companies in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for more than 15 years. Its reputation and success are built on the premise that travel medicine is comprehensive.

Our MD-certified clinic offers immunizations for international travel not stocked by general practitioners. Prospective travelers receive travel information pertinent to their destination and prescriptions to prevent health risks or self-treat minor illnesses. They leave the clinic protected against vaccination-preventable diseases and prepared to deal with common travel illnesses.

The Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic is run by a medical director leading a team of clinical nurses. The medical director is specially trained and certified in tropical medicine and travel health. Under his direction, the clinic provides comprehensive advice and immunization to ensure travelers stay healthy irrespective of their destination country and activities while traveling.

The day-to-day activities of the Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic are managed by a highly qualified nurse practitioner experienced in international and routine adult immunization.

She will ensure you meet the entry requirements of your travel destination, prescribe prophylactic medications, and provide tips on healthy travel practices and travel supplies.

Consultation

At our Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic, travelers receive specialized consultation to ensure they stay healthy and safe in environments that may challenge their resistance to disease. They will learn whether they need yellow fever and receive a certificate showing all the vaccines required for entry. They will also learn how to be responsible travelers so as to prevent outbreaks of measles and other diseases still not eradicated in other parts of the world from occurring in the U.S.

For our corporate clients, the Travel Advisory and Immunization Clinic offers customized, on-site group vaccination and group counseling.

Jump to content

Updated visitor policies

Other michigan medicine sites.

• About Michigan Medicine
• UofMHealth.org
• Medical School
• Find a Clinical Trial

Michigan Medicine

Federated search page form block, quick links.

• Patient Portal Login
• For Health Providers
• Maps & Directions

Overseas Travel Clinic

From immunizations to food safety, it is very important that you prepare yourself to stay healthy while traveling abroad. The Overseas Travel Clinic is available by appointment to Michigan Medicine employees who are traveling for Michigan Medicine business related purposes only (not for leisure travel). Our staff of travel nurses, a medical assistant specialist and a physician trained in infectious diseases has access to the latest information concerning health risks and vaccine requirements specific to travel destinations around the world.

The specialized team at the Overseas Travel Clinic offers services to prepare you for your trip, resources to guide you while you travel, and follow up care should you develop symptoms upon your return.

Advertisement

Supported by

Hot Oceans Worsened Dubai’s Dramatic Flooding, Scientists Say

An international team of researchers found that heavy rains had intensified in the region, though they couldn’t say for sure how much climate change was responsible.

• Share full article

By Raymond Zhong

Scenes of flood-ravaged neighborhoods in one of the planet’s driest regions stunned the world this month. Heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates and Oman submerged cars, clogged highways and killed at least 21 people. Flights out of Dubai’s airport, a major global hub, were severely disrupted.

The downpours weren’t a total surprise — forecasters had anticipated the storms several days earlier and issued warnings. But they were certainly unusual.

Here’s what to know.

Heavy rain there is rare, but not unheard-of.

On average, the Arabian Peninsula receives a scant few inches of rain a year, although scientists have found that a sizable chunk of that precipitation falls in infrequent but severe bursts, not as periodic showers. These rains often come during El Niño conditions like the ones the world is experiencing now.

U.A.E. officials said the 24-hour rain total on April 16 was the country’s largest since records there began in 1949 . And parts of the nation had already experienced an earlier round of thunderstorms in March.

Oman, with its coastline on the Arabian Sea, is also vulnerable to tropical cyclones. Past storms there have brought torrential rain, powerful winds and mudslides, causing extensive damage.

Global warming is projected to intensify downpours.

Stronger storms are a key consequence of human-caused global warming. As the atmosphere gets hotter, it can hold more moisture, which can eventually make its way down to the earth as rain or snow.

But that doesn’t mean rainfall patterns are changing in precisely the same way across every part of the globe.

In their latest assessment of climate research , scientists convened by the United Nations found there wasn’t enough data to have firm conclusions about rainfall trends in the Arabian Peninsula and how climate change was affecting them. The researchers said, however, that if global warming were to be allowed to continue worsening in the coming decades, extreme downpours in the region would quite likely become more intense and more frequent.

Hot oceans are a big factor.

An international team of scientists has made a first attempt at estimating the extent to which climate change may have contributed to April’s storms. The researchers didn’t manage to pin down the connection precisely, though in their analysis, they did highlight one known driver of heavy rain in the region: above-normal ocean temperatures.

Large parts of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans have been hotter than usual recently, in part because of El Niño and other natural weather cycles, and in part because of human-induced warming .

When looking only at El Niño years, the scientists estimated that storm events as infrequent as this month’s delivered 10 percent to 40 percent more rain to the region than they would in a world that hadn’t been warmed by human activities. They cautioned, however, that these estimates were highly uncertain.

“Rainfall, in general, is getting more extreme,” said Mansour Almazroui, a climate scientist at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and one of the researchers who contributed to the analysis.

The analysis was conducted by scientists affiliated with World Weather Attribution, a research collaboration that studies extreme weather events shortly after they occur. Their findings about this month’s rains haven’t yet been peer reviewed, but are based on standardized methods .

The role of cloud seeding isn’t clear.

The U.A.E. has for decades worked to increase rainfall and boost water supplies by seeding clouds. Essentially, this involves shooting particles into clouds to encourage the moisture to gather into larger, heavier droplets, ones that are more likely to fall as rain or snow.

Cloud seeding and other rain-enhancement methods have been tried around the world, including in Australia, China, India, Israel, South Africa and the United States. Studies have found that these operations can, at best, affect precipitation modestly — enough to turn a downpour into a bigger downpour, but probably not a drizzle into a deluge.

Still, experts said pinning down how much seeding might have contributed to this month’s storms would require detailed study.

“In general, it is quite a challenge to assess the impact of seeding,” said Luca Delle Monache, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. Dr. Delle Monache has been leading efforts to use artificial intelligence to improve the U.A.E.’s rain-enhancement program.

An official with the U.A.E.’s National Center of Meteorology, Omar Al Yazeedi, told news outlets that the agency didn’t conduct any seeding during the latest storms. His statements didn’t make clear, however, whether that was also true in the hours or days before.

Mr. Al Yazeedi didn’t respond to emailed questions from The New York Times, and Adel Kamal, a spokesman for the center, didn’t have further comment.

Cities in dry places just aren’t designed for floods.

Wherever it happens, flooding isn’t just a matter of how much rain comes down. It’s also about what happens to all that water once it’s on the ground — most critically, in the places people live.

Cities in arid regions often aren’t designed to drain very effectively. In these areas, paved surfaces block rain from seeping into the earth below, forcing it into drainage systems that can easily become overwhelmed.

One recent study of Sharjah , the capital of the third-largest emirate in the U.A.E., found that the city’s rapid growth over the past half-century had made it vulnerable to flooding at far lower levels of rain than before.

Omnia Al Desoukie contributed reporting.

Raymond Zhong reports on climate and environmental issues for The Times. More about Raymond Zhong