MUSCAT (Agencies)
At least 15 people were killed in Oman and Iran as Cyclone Gonu – the most violent tropical storm to hit the region in three decades – roared towards Iran from the Gulf of Oman, officials said Thursday.
"The number of people confirmed dead is 12," Omani police spokesman Colonel Abdallah bin Ali al-Harthi told state television.
Television showed images of overturned cars and flooded roads on the battered east coast and a police spokesman said officers had to use jet skis to get around some parts of the seaside capital Muscat.
The storm raised fears about oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, where about one quarter of the world's crude supplies pass, although no major disruption was reported.
Two ports in Oman remained closed on Thursday and flights were cancelled at Seeb international airport.
As the sunshine returned, residents began venturing out into the streets, where trees and street signs were uprooted. |
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Iran braces for 2nd strike Gonu is the worst cyclone to hit the Arabian peninsula since 1977 In Iran, 40,000 people had been evacuated from coastal areas in southern provinces. They hunkered down in shelters as they awaited a second onslaught of ferocious winds and driving rains.
"We are expecting the second wave which in the next hours to enter the province and we are already seeing the rain," Yasser Hazbavi, the head of Hormozgan's natural disaster committee told state television.
Cyclone Gonu hit Iran's southern coast late on Wednesday after arriving across the Strait of Hormuz from Oman, packing winds of 200 kilometers (125 miles) an hour and damaging clay-built houses ill-equipped to withstand the storm.
Three people were killed in Iran's southern port of Bandar-e Jask when a river overflowing as a result of the cyclone caused their vehicle to overturn, a city transport official said.
The governor of Sistan-Baluchestan province, Habibollah Dehmordeh, said some old houses in the old towns of the port cities of Chahbahar and Konarak had been damaged and phone lines were cut.
State media said the severity of the storm in Chahbahar and Konark, around 100 kilometres from the border with Pakistan, was unprecedented in the last 30 years and water levels were still rising.
Hospitals in both provinces were on alert to receive any casualties.
Gonu, whose name in the language of the Maldives means a bag made of palm fronds, initially packed winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) an hour.
Oil experts said any impact on world oil prices would be temporary provided facilities in the area stayed intact. |
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Saudi king extends support Meanwhile, Saudi King Abdullah offered Oman help in dealing with any problems caused by the storm, the official SPA news agency reported.
"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands by and fully supports the Sultanate of Oman and puts all its resources at the disposal of the authorities in Oman to help alleviate the sufferings and damages resulting from the cyclone," the statement from the monarch said.
King Abdullah also offered prayers for Oman's safety and urged Muslims around the world to voice sympathy and solidarity with those affected in Oman and the other Gulf States, the statement added.
Saudi Arabia, which lies west of Oman, said it did not expect the storm to affect its oil-producing regions, which lie well to the west of the generally northward moving storm. |
