United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on high alert after Cyclone Shaheen hits Oman | Weather News



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Cyclone Shaheen hit Oman on Sunday with fierce winds and heavy rain, flooding streets, prompting evacuations from coastal areas and suspending some flights to and from the capital Muscat.

Authorities in the UAE said precautionary measures were being taken and Saudi Arabia called for caution in several areas after four people were kill when Tropical Cyclone Shaheen made landfall in neighboring Oman.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) police on Monday patrolled near beaches and valleys where torrential rains were expected to keep residents safe.

Government and private sector workers in al-Ain, on the border with Oman, were asked to work remotely on Monday and authorities called on residents to avoid leaving their homes except in an emergency, the government said. Abu Dhabi government media office.

“Authorities are working proactively around the clock to assess residential units in affected areas and transport families to safe locations until it is possible to return safely,” he said. .

Saudi civil protection authorities have called for caution in several areas from Monday to Friday pending high winds and possible flooding, the state news agency reported.

A man wades through a flooded street in Muscat, the capital of Oman [Haitham Al-Shukairi/AFP]

Cyclone Shaheen hit Oman on Sunday with fierce winds and heavy rain, flooding streets, prompting evacuations from coastal areas and suspending some flights to and from the capital Muscat.

As the cyclone approached, a child, who had been washed away, was found dead, the state news agency said, and another missing person was also found dead.

Two workers were killed when a hill collapsed on their living area in an industrial area.

When its eye crossed the earth, the cyclone was carrying winds of between 120 and 150 km / h (75 to 93 mph), Omani authorities said. It launched waves of up to 10 meters (32 feet).

Video footage from Omani broadcasters showed vehicles submerged as people attempted to make their way through brown and muddy flood waters.

Up to 500 cm (20 inches) of rain was expected in some areas, increasing the risk of flash floods.

Cyclones are gradually losing their power over land and Shaheen has been downgraded to a tropical storm after clearing the ocean, the weather service said on Twitter.

The national emergency committee said power would be cut off in al-Qurm, east of the capital, to prevent accidents. Aid agencies have transferred more than 2,700 people to emergency shelters.

Most of the oil-exporting country’s five million people live in and around Muscat. Authorities said the capital’s roads would only be open to emergency and humanitarian vehicles until the storm subsides.

A wooden ship sank at the port of Sultan Qaboos and its crew were rescued, the National Emergency Management Committee announced on Twitter.

Cars are abandoned on flooded street as Shaheen makes landfall in Muscat [Sultan Al Hassani/Reuters]



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