FOUR PEOPLE DIE IN OMAN FLOODS

Civil defence work to rescue hundreds left homeless

Hundreds are left homeless after flash flooding from torrential downpour,

MUSCAT // Four people were killed and more than 200 left homeless yesterday after flash floods triggered by torrential rain devastated buildings across Oman.

The worst affected area was the Batnah region in the north where most of the properties were destroyed by flooded valleys.

Civil defence officers launched an emergency operation to rescue people living on the edge of the valleys, some of whom are labourers. The rescue teams used inflatable boats to reach people stranded in flooded areas.

“The latest count is that four died – two are foreign labourers and two are Omanis,” said a civil defence officer.

“More than 200 people, including construction workers, have had their homes destroyed.”

He said the labourers died in Suwaiq when they were swept away by the floodwaters, while the Omanis were killed in the nearby town of Musanah after their car skidded and overturned.

About 70 people had been taken to hospitals and those who lost their homes were being housed in temporary shelters, the officer said.

People living near the flooded areas said they heard the helicopters early yesterday morning as civil defence officers flew people to safety.

“There were screams everywhere as these people tried to attract attention,” said Ahmed Al Zaabi, a resident in Barka, in the Batnah region.

“Some of them were standing on their roofs, some on their cars. Any high spot just to be out of the water.”

Civil defence said that the health department was distributing medicine to prevent an outbreak of waterborne diseases.

The inclement weather also ravaged parts of the remote areas in the Wahiba Sands, a stretch of desert popular with tourists.

Tour guides were told not to take visitors to the region this week.

Weather forecasters said the heavy rain would continue until Sunday. The state meteorological office recorded more rainfall in the past two days than the average rainfall this whole month.

Flash floods usually occur in Oman at this time of the year when heavy rain causes valleys to flood rapidly.