Tropical Cyclone Shaheen brings three years worth of rain to parts of Oman
A rare tropical cyclone that hit the normally desert-like landscape of Oman has brought three years worth of rain to some areas in just one day.
A rare tropical cyclone that hit the parched desert landscape of Oman saw three years’ worth of rainfall come down in just one day, creating havoc and killing at least 11 people.
The sudden downpour created widespread flooding and landslides in a country that rarely sees rainfall, bringing three years worth of rain in just one day in some areas.
The storm is the first tropical cyclone to affect Oman’s northern coast in modern recordkeeping, according to Yale Climate Connections.
Tropical cyclone Shaheen made landfall north of the capital Muscat late on Sunday, October 3 (local time). The highest rainfall was experienced in the coastal provinces of Al-Khaboura, which saw 369mm of rainfall in around 24 hours — three times its average annual rainfall — and Al Suwaiq, which got 300mm, according to the Times of Oman.
Trees were felled and streets were flooded in many areas. Video posted on October 4 shows flooding in Saham, a coastal town in the north-east.
#شاهين
— سالم 🇴🇲 (@salim_shamosi) October 4, 2021
ØÙيت ولاية #صØÙ…pic.twitter.com/tPmHoREI7r
Other footage showed water cascading down the side of a rocky outcrop near Muscat.
Early on October 4, local authorities in Oman, which is located on the Arabian Peninsula, changed Shaheen’s status from a cyclone to a tropical storm, and later to a depression. An update in the early afternoon said the “direct effects” of the storm were over.
Seven of the victims died in the Batinah region, the National Committee for Emergency Management said, without giving further details.
A child swept away by flash flooding was among four deaths on Sunday and two men were killed when a building was hit by a landslip.
On Monday, October 4, Oman’s air force used helicopters to winch stranded survivors to safety on the country’s northern coast. A prisoner was rescued from a rooftop in Suwayq, police said.
Torrential rains from the tropical cyclone also caused widespread floods in the southern Yemeni city of Mukalla, where a young man was electrocuted, local officials said on Thursday.
The floods added to suffering in the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country, which has endured seven years of war.
The rain lashed Mukalla on Wednesday days after tropical cyclone Shaheen was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in Oman.
A Yemeni official said the rains caused flooding that swept away cars in Mukalla, damaged shops and homes, and knocked down electricity poles.
“At least 10 cars were swept away and (several) homes were damaged, while a young man died of electric shock,” said the official who declined to be named.
The cars were left up-ended in waterlogged, muddy streets.
Meteorologists in Aden, Yemen’s second city west of Mukalla on the country’s south coast, had expected a fallout from Cyclone Shaheen.
Across the Gulf in Iran, six people were reported dead while the United Arab Emirates, which borders Oman, was also put on alert.
Dozens of people are killed each year across Yemen in flash floods caused by heavy rains.
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