Dozens missing or dead after cyclone hits Oman

SALALAH, Oman — A cyclone more powerful than any previously recorded in southern Oman slammed into the Persian Gulf country and neighboring Yemen on Saturday, deluging a major city with nearly three years’ worth of rain in a single day. The storm killed at least five people, and more than 30 are missing, officials said.

Cyclone Mekunu caused flash flooding that tore away whole roads and submerged others in Salalah, Oman’s thirdlargest city, stranding drivers. Winds knocked over streetlights and tore away roofing.

Rushing waters from the rain and storm surges flooded typically dry creek beds. Now-empty tourist beaches were littered with debris and foam from the churning Arabian Sea.

Three people, one a 12-year-old girl, died in Oman, and two more bodies were recovered from the Yemeni island of Socotra. More than 30 people were still missing in Socotra, including Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals.

Yemeni officials reported damage in their country’s far east, along the border with Oman. Gov. Rageh Bakrit of al-Mahra province said on his official Twitter account late Friday that winds had blown down houses and taken out communication lines and water services. He said there were no fatalities in the province.

India’s Meteorological Department said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 105 to 111 mph, with gusts up to 124 mph. It called the cyclone “extremely severe.”

Portions of Salalah, home to some 200,000 people, lost power as the cyclone made landfall.

Omani forecasters said Salalah and the surrounding area would get at least 7.87 inches of rain, more than twice the city’s annual rainfall. But it actually received more than 11 inches, nearly three times its annual rainfall.

Mohammed Mahjoub / Getty Images A car is stuck in a flooded street in Salalah, Oman. Cyclone Mekunu was downgraded to a deep depression Saturday, a day after lashing the southern coast.