Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: A senior meteorologist at Oman’s Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA), has said that it is unlikely that there will be a second cyclone following Mekunu.
Rumours on social media had circulated regarding Oman having to deal with a second cyclone in the coming week, after Mekunu made landfall in Dhofar and lashed the governorate with torrential rain, accompanied by thunderstorms and landslides.
"There is a rumour currently circulating about another tropical situation that the Sultanate will face," said Abdullah Al Khadouri, a senior meteorologist at PACA and member of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission's Tsunami Programme. "This is not true, and we tell everyone and the starters of these rumours time and time again, that it is not allowed now to spread rumours and false news.
"We hope that everyone will cooperate with our focus in observing and following up the cyclone and getting out of it with minimal damage, God willing," he added.
Al Khadouri had kept a close watch on events unfolding in Salalah, as had Oman's National Committee for Civil Defence. Emergency preparations had begun two weeks prior, and plans were drawn up to limit damage to a minimum. Nevertheless, Al Khadouri asked people to stay alert, as the danger Mekunu posed wasn't over yet.
"Citizens should pay attention to the limits of runoff in low-lying areas," he advised. "There will be occurrences of extended water flow from the valleys, and the rise of the water levels are accompanied with the continuation of rainfall during the coming hours. Therefore, everyone should pay attention and act immediately in the event of water entering homes."
Mekunu hit Salalah around midnight, but began to die down in the wee hours of Saturday morning, and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
"The tropical storm made landfall at 1:00 am for the first time," he announced. "The cyclone centre entered the coasts of Dhofar Governorate in the area between Raysut and Rakhyut. The amounts of rain is still very high and so is the wind, so we ask everyone to take the utmost care.
"Heavy rains continue in Dhofar and parts of central Al Wusta," added Al Khadouri. "Rainfall is still present in the rest of the Sultanate in a sporadic manner that may be thunderous on the Hajar Mountains."
Said Al Sarmi, a meteorological researcher who collaborated with the Directorate General of Meteorology for Oman, and is currently based out of Riyadh, where he is monitoring Arabian weather patterns, added: "There is no monitoring or the possibility of any other tropical situation so far and I call for not publishing rumors and incorrect news.
"The tropical storm continues to move north towards the deserts of the Dhofar Governorate," he said. "The rain is more abundant in the eastern and southern parts of Dhofar, and the rest of the tropical storm is thankfully much less than what I saw yesterday."
