3 killed as Cyclone Shaheen hits Oman
HIGHWAYS, RESIDENTIAL AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS FLOODED WITH MORE HEAVY RAINS FORECAST
The centre of Tropical Cyclone Shaheen hit land in Oman yesterday after claiming the lives of three people, including a child, as authorities urged residents to evacuate coastal areas and delayed flights to and from the capital, Muscat.
A child who had been swept away by water was found dead in Wilayat of Al Amerat, the state news agency said, and another person was missing. Two Asian workers were killed when a hill collapsed on their housing area in an industrial zone as a result of the cyclone.
The storm was carrying winds of 120km/h and throwing up waves of up to 10 metres, Omani authorities said.
Highways and interior lanes in residential and industrial areas have been flooded by incessant rains. Video footage from local broadcasters showed vehicles submerged as people tried to make their way through floodwater.
The centre of the cyclone hit A’Suwaiq, bringing very high winds and thunderstorm and lightning. Part of the eyewall of the storm, where the most severe weather occurs, had earlier entered Al Batinah South governorate. The cyclone will continue to cause heavy rainfall in North and South Al Batinah.
Six fatalities in Iran
In Iran, six people were killed in Chabahar port due to the storm. “Infrastructure, including electrical facilities and roads, was damaged,” provincial governor Hossain Modarres-Khiabani told IRNA news agency.
As the tropical storm Shaheen that has hit Oman last evening, the effects were felt in the UAE, too. According to the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), strong to moderate winds, dust storms, and light rain were reported along the eastern coast of the country, parts of Dubai, and Sharjah.
Speaking to Gulf News, Dr. Ahmed Habib, a senior NCM official, said: “The sea is rough to very rough offshore, along the UAE’s coastline, with a wave height of eight to nine feet. The waves are more turbulent in the Arabian Gulf currently.”
The NCM, in a later update, shared a red alert warning of turbulence in the Oman sea. “Continuity of rough to very rough in Oman sea with wave height six to eight, up to 10 feet offshore due to fresh to strong winds, with wind speed reaching 50km/h from 5.25pm on Sunday, October 3, until 5.25pm, Monday, October 4,” read the alert.
The emergency and civil defence teams across the UAE are on complete alert for any weather changes along the coast of the country.
Inspecting preparations
Brigadier Abdullah Mubarak Bin Amer, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, accompanied by Brigadier General Dr Ahmad Saeed Al Naour, Director General of Central Operations at Sharjah Police, and Colonel Dr. Ali Al Kay Al Hamoudi, Director of the Eastern Region Police Department, inspected the preparations of the comprehensive police stations in the Eastern Region
Brigadier Bin Amer also toured the coasts of the cities of the eastern region to follow up on the extent of advance preparation by the competent authorities to deal with the situation.
Brigadier Bin Amer also held a meeting with the Executive Committee for Crises and Disasters in the Eastern Province, in the presence of Brigadier General Dr. Ali Salem Al Tunaiji, Director General of Federal Central Operations.