Emergency crews tackle four months of rain in a single day

Muscat: Oman could receive as much as 40mm of rain over the next 24 hours, according to government weather watchers, who have warned residents to steer clear of low lying areas and wadis.
In pictures: Roads covered in ice after hailstorm in Oman
The annual average rainfall in Oman is around 120mm, so some parts of the country are bracing for a 24-hour deluge equivalent to four months of rain - in a single day.
Five people stuck in a car in Shinas, North Al Batinah, were rescued by emergency crews last night, a spokesman for the Public Authority for Civil Defence & Ambulance confirmed.
The spokesman said they had tried to cross a flooded wadi and became trapped in the fast flowing waters. Rescuers managed to get to them and free them, the spokesman added.
Emergency services and rescuers are busy dealing with storms and flooding across Oman, and the Public Authority for Civil Aviation’s weather watchers have warned the Sultanate could be drenched in 40mm of rain over the next 24 hours.
Reports of cars being stuck in wadis and people being rescued prompted the Royal Oman Police and the Public Authority for Civil Defence & Ambulance to publish warnings to residents to stay safe.
The messages - on social media - urged drivers not to tackle flowing wadis or remain on low ground. Emergency service crews also urged people to stay off the roads unless journeys were vitally important - and gave tips on driving in wet and wild weather.
A statement from the PACA posted online last night reads: “Heavy rain alert: Due to the heavy rainfall expected that may exceed 40 mm during the next 24 hours, and which is associated with fresh wind, hail and running of wadis over the governorates of Muscat, Musandam, Buraimi, Dhahira, al Batinah, Dakhlia, Sharqiya, the Public Authority for Civil Aviation advises all to take precaution during thundershowers and wadis and low areas.”
Local municipalities across Oman also reported having to deal with flooding. In Al Dakhliyah, authorities reported they were dealing with pumping water away from houses and roads in the state.
People were also reported trapped in wadis and emergency crews were responding.
One resident, in Seeb, said: “It’s rained here like I’ve never seen it rain before, with a strong driving wind behind it. The road to the beach is cut off and indundated with water. There’s sheet lightning and forked lightning in the skies over the Al Hail North and people are parked up on the beach watching it. The tide is pretty high so people have to really be careful.”
Across Oman, freak snow and hailstone showers have been falling, together with the heavy rain and strong winds.
Weather watchers have been warning for some days that a low pressure trough was moving in over the Sultanate.
According to an expert, more than 40 mm within 24 hours is very rare in Oman if you keep the cyclones like Gonu and Phet outside. “The yearly average rainfall in Sultanate of Oman is just around 50 to 100 mm in Oman,” said a professor.
According to a research, the highest daily maximum rainfall of 431 mm was recorded in Masirah Island in 1977.
The research also shows the average yearly rainfall varies from a low of 76.9 mm in the interior region to a high of 181.9 mm in the Dhofar Mountains, with an average of 117.4 mm for the whole country. “In northern Oman, the main rainfall season occurs between December and April and that accounts for 57.8–82.9% of the annual rainfall. February and March record the highest rainfall accounting for 35.3 to 42% of the yearly rainfall. The Dhofar Mountains and surrounding areas in southern Oman are dominated by the khareef season in July–August, which produces 44.3 to 67.5% of the rainfall in that area. The number of days of light rainfall (<10 mm per day) is the most dominant and accounts for 66–95% of the rain,” the study said.
The study also shows that rain in excess of 50 mm per day are very rare in Oman. “But when it does occur can result in serious consequences such as flash flooding, human catastrophes and land degradation,” the report added. Pictures: Shabin E/ Bader Ali Al Baddaei, an administrator of www.rthmc.net