Amazon AWS UAE suffers power outage after 'objects' hit data centre

The company said the incident occurred at about 4:30 pm Dubai time on Sunday.

Updated on: Mar 02, 2026 10:34 AM IST

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a service disruption after unidentified objects hit one of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates, sparking a fire.

Amazon AWS UAE suffers power outage. (REUTERS)

The company said the incident occurred at about 4:30 pm Dubai time on Sunday. Emergency crews responding to the blaze switched off power to the facility and its generators to contain the fire, according to a post on AWS’s Health Dashboard.

“One of our Availability Zones ... was impacted by objects that struck the data center, creating sparks and fire,” the company said, referring to regional clusters of data centres.

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AWS added that it was diverting traffic to other facilities. It operates 123 such clusters across 39 regions worldwide. The company did not provide an estimate for when electricity would be restored at the affected site, Bloomberg reported.

Link to regional conflict unclear

It remains uncertain whether the incident was connected to the escalating confrontation between the United States and Iran.

The fire broke out on the same day Iranian projectiles reportedly struck locations in the UAE. The attacks were described as retaliation for recent US and Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials.

Iran’s response has extended beyond the UAE. Missile and drone attacks have targeted US bases and allied locations across the region, including in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

AWS said that other data centre clusters were not affected by the incident. It continues to reroute customer traffic to maintain services while restoration efforts are under way.

The company has not indicated how long the disruption may last.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)

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