MUSCAT // Oman was gearing up to face “heavy rains and strong winds” on Thursday, as Tropical Storm Ashobaa headed towards the city of Sur, with residents warned to avoid going outside.
Some schools in Oman were closed, with school buildings in the cities of Seeb, Qurayat, Bausher, Muttrah, Amerat and Muscat converted into temporary emergency shelters. Exams scheduled for Thursday were postponed until further notice.
Hotel resorts in Sur and on Masirah Island stopped taking guests due to a possible cyclone threat.
The extent of the threat posed by Ashobaa to Oman has been difficult to predict, but safety experts advised the public to remain alert.
“People should be prepared for the worst,” said one safety expert in Oman. He advised residents to stock torch, candles, medicines and nonperishable items at home.
“We request everyone to maintain vigilant when it rains and not to go out unless it is a necessity,” an official from the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (Pacda) added.
After cyclones Guno and Phet wreaked havoc in Oman in 2007 and 2010 respectively, the authorities appeared to be leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for Ashobaa.
Civil defence teams and Pacda staff were being kept on standby on Thursday to respond to any emergency telephone calls from members of the public, while the ministry of commerce and industry said it had taken steps to avoid fuel and food shortages.
Special emergency phone and fax numbers were also released by the ministry of regional municipalities and water resources.
Meanwhile, Omani police warned motorists not to cross overflowing wadis to avoid endangering their own lives and the lives of rescuers. The majority of deaths in the Sultanate occur from motorists attempting to drive through flooded wadis, whose waters are strong enough to move even large tankers, police said.
The national carrier Oman Air issued a travel advisory asking travellers to log onto its website for the latest flight information in case of delays or cancellations. The US embassy also advised its citizens not to venture out during the storm and to follow the weather forecast closely before going outside.
On Thursday afternoon, the Public Authority of Civil Aviation (Paca) said that the storm was 120km away from Oman’s southern Al Sharqiyah coast, with maximum sustained surface wind speeds of between 35 and 45 knots.
“Heavy rains and strong winds are forecast in the next 24 hours. The height of waves will be between four and seven metres,” Paca said.
“The storm will move towards south Al Sharqiyah coastal areas between Ras Al Hadd and Masirah and cause moderate to heavy rainfall in south Sharqiyah, northern Sharqiyah, Al Wusta, Muscat, Al Dakhliyah and Batinah.”
Meteorologists at Accuweather.com expect Ashobaa to weaken after drifting towards the Omani coast. The heaviest rain would occur between Sur and Masirah Island, they said.
Fearing a repeat of the flooding that followed heavy rains last year, Al Nadha Hospital in Muscat has been closed from June 10 to June 13. As a precautionary step, the gates of the Wadi Dayqah dam have also been opened.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
