Cyclone hits Oman and Yemen
Three killed, 40 missing as Mekunu makes landfall
SALALAH (oman): Cyclone Mekunu blew into the Arabian Peninsula, drenching arid Oman and Yemen, cutting off power lines and leaving at least three dead and 40 missing, officials said.
Portions of Salalah, Oman’s thirdlargest city, lost electricity as the cyclone made landfall.
The Arabian Sea churned yesterday morning, sending mounds of sea foam into the air.
The waves ate into one tourist beach, pulling chunks of it away and toppling thatch umbrellas cemented into the sand.
Three people, including a 12-yearold girl, died in Oman, and 40 others are missing from the Yemeni island of Socotra, which earlier took the storm’s brunt, police said.
Yemenis, Indians and Sudanese were among those missing on the Arabian Sea isle and officials feared some may be dead.
India’s Meteorological Department said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 170kph to 180kph, with gusts of up to 200kph.
It called the cyclone “extremely severe”.
Across Salalah, branches and leaves littered the streets.
Several underpasses became standing lakes.
Some cars were left abandoned on the road.
Electrical workers began trying to repair lines in the city while police and soldiers in SUVs patrolled the streets.
On the outskirts of the city, near the Salalah International Airport, what once was a dry creek bed had become a raging river.
Many holidaymakers fled the storm on Thursday night before the airport closed.
The Port of Salalah – a key gateway for the country – also closed, its
cranes secured against the pounding rain.
Omani forecasters warned Salalah and the surrounding area would get at least 200mm of rain, over twice the city’s annual downfall.
Authorities remained worried about flash flooding in the area’s valleys and potential mudslides down its nearby cloud-shrouded mountains.
As torrential rains poured down on Friday, authorities opened schools to shelter those whose homes are at risk.
About 600 people, mostly labourers, huddled at the West Salalah School, some sleeping on mattresses on the floors of classrooms.
On Socotra, authorities relocated over 230 families to sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island’s mountains, Yemeni security officials said.