Oman weather: Al Awabi school flooding was caused after 100mm of rainfall

Energy Monday 17/July/2017 21:21 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman weather: Al Awabi school flooding was caused after 100mm of rainfall

Muscat: About 100 millimetres (mm) of rainfall was reported through last weekend in Al Awabi, which saw a school being flooded, as well as a road being washed away in the area.
The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources reported that the considerable amount of rainfall has affected areas in the Sultanate throughout this past weekend, from July 13 to 15. Forty-seven wadis (valleys) have become active during the rainfall throughout the country, of which 19 wadis are heavily flooded.
South Al Batinah especially saw the highest amount of rainfall, clocking in at 95 mm of rain in Al Awabi. The flooding in Al Awabi was a direct consequence of heavy cloud build-up in and around the Al Hajar Mountains, according to weather experts.
“The rains led to the overflowing of wadis, and the dams trapped large quantities of water. The rainfall stations, which fall under the ministry, recorded the highest amount of precipitation in South Al Batinah,” the Ministry said.
Al Dhakhiliyah also saw a large amount of rain in its province of Samail, recorded 71 mm; followed by the Wilayat Al Khaboura in North Al Batinah, which saw 30 mm of rain over the weekend.
The Ministry also detailed the amounts of water that the country’s dams had collected.
“Wadi Tanuf in the state of Nizwa was filled up to 0.68 million cubic metres. The two Al Sahtan dams in Al Rustaq filled with a combined amount of 0.11 million cubic metres. The Al Awabi dam in Wilayat Al Awabi was filled with 0.29 million cubic metres of water,” the Ministry added.
The Ministry also included other provinces’ high recorded rainfall during the three days: Quraiyat saw 28 mm of rain, Ibri saw 25 mm of rain, and Wadi Bani Khalid saw six mm.