Vehicles washed away as heavy rains hit Oman

Muscat: A number of vehicles were washed away due to heavy rains in Nizwa on Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency workers rescued many people as torrential rains lashed Oman and flooded homes.

On Monday night, 20 citizens were airlifted from a mountainous area to the Wilayat of Dima by police helicopter as they were stranded in heavy rains.

Officials said that heavy to moderate rains hit many areas in North and South Al Sharqiyah, Al Wusta, Al Dakhiliyah, Al Dhahira and South Al Batinah governorates, which led to the overflow of a number of wadis, and affected traffic in Nizwa, Sinaw and Mudhaibi.

In Nizwa, many cars were swept away which were parked in front of the Sultan Qaboos Academy for Police Sciences.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources published the amount of rainfall distribution over a number of areas from 22 April 2023 until 9 am on April 24. The Wilayat of Wadi Bani Khalid in North Al Sharqiyah Governorate recorded the highest amount of rain with 74 mm.

The wilayats of Ja'alan Bani Bu Ali in North Al Sharqiyah and Al Qabil in South Al Sharqiyah recorded 73 mm of rain, followed by the wilayats of Al Kamil Wal' Wafi with 68 mm, Ibra 40 mm, Bidiah 34 mm and Amerat 28 mm.

On the other hand, the Wilayat of Sur, Al Mudhaibi, Al Awabi, recorded only 9mm, 5mm and 4mm rains respectively, while Samail and Izki recorded only 1mm of rain.

As a result of rains, the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in the Wilayat of Sur implemented remote studies on Tuesday.

In an alert, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) stated that heavy rains will continue.

It asked people not to risk crossing valleys, keep an eye on children, move away from low lying areas, and not attempt swimming.

See video here.