Monday 06 / May / 2024
Muscat: Emergency service personnel and units from the Sultan’s Armed Forces have been tirelessly helping people affected by heavy rains and flooding occurring across parts of the country.
Two children sadly died in separate incidents after drowning in stagnant bodies of water caused by the rain. One died in Jalan Bani Bu Hasan in South Al Sharqiyah, while the other was found dead at Awqad in Salalah.
An expatriate worker was also found dead by emergency services after the bulldozer he was operating in Wadi Lizagh in Samail became stuck while carrying out excavations.
Warnings were issued to people, asking them to stay away from wadis and areas prone to flooding. Rescue services, however, were still required to intervene on a number of occasions where people and their vehicles had gotten stuck in the rain.
“Rainfall of varying intensity, and fast-flowing wadis in several governorates of the Sultanate, has resulted in many people and vehicles becoming stranded in South Sharqiyah,” said an advisory from the ROP.
“Please do not venture out during this weather, and do not risk the crossing of wadis,” the ROP advisory added.
The Sharqiyah region in Oman’s east has been strongly affected by the adverse weather: personnel from the Royal Oman Police were required to rescue many people and extricate their vehicles, after they became stuck in fast-flowing wadis filled with torrential rainfall.
The police were also called to assist a family of five in Tawi Hatim in Wilayat Al Kamil W’Al Wafi, two more in Wilayat Jalan Bani Bu Ali, and another large group of five women, a man, and 10 children, in Wadi Al Arbayin in Quriyat. Airborne units have also been dispatched to assist with search and rescue operations.
Rescues were also mounted to extract two Asian nationals in Wadi Silil, and to evacuate a family from their home in Al Humaydah, both in Al Kamel w’Al Wafi. Extreme weather also led to the collapse of a home in the Al Ayjah neighbourhood in Sur. In the area of Bilad Sur, teams from the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority were called in to move to safety around 30 families, after flood waters entered their homes.
Teams were also required to move to shelter families whose homes have been damaged by the adverse weather conditions.
The weather then caused a power cut in Sur, which required emergency repairs from the Authority for Public Service Regulations.
“The authority is following up with companies operating in the sector on the latest developments regarding power outages in Sur, as a result of thunderstorms,” said the government body. “Companies are currently working to restore power as soon as possible while taking all safety measures.”
Torrential flow of water also caused a key pipeline that provides water to several villages in South Sharqiyah to burst, cutting off supply to many families. To assist affected households, squads from the Sultan’s Armed Forces were called in.
The 23rd Infantry Brigade, represented by the Coastal Security Force of the Royal Army of Oman, provided assistance, including “providing potable water tanks and clearing the roads of waste, which was caused by torrential flow of water, as well as moving people to safe areas,” said the Ministry of Defence in a statement.
Sur received 204.4mm of rainfall over the past two days, followed by Al Kamil wa Al Wafi (101.4mm), Dima wa Tayyin (73.4mm) and Al Mazyona (69.2mm). Liwa (54.8mm), Rustaq (48.2mm), and Quriyat (43.6mm), all received rainfall as well, according to Oman Meteorology.
