Hundreds of people who have been made homeless after the cyclone Shaheen devastated parts of North and South Al Batinah governorates heaved a sigh of relief as the government announced houses for them.
“We are thanking Almighty for this news (being provided with the shelter) after we lost everything to the cyclone. The land where my house used to be is an accumulation of mud now’’, Hamed al Salhi, a resident of Bidiya, which is the worst-affected area, said.
The Ministerial Committee for the ‘Assessment of Damage Resulted from the Tropical Situation Shaheen’, announced its plans to build 328 houses in the places of the completely damaged houses in its fourth meeting on Monday.
“We have decided to evacuate the shelters and relocate the affected citizens to their homes after necessary repairs and cleaning ups were conducted, and directed to make plans to build 328 homes instead of the completely affected homes’’, a statement from the Assessment Committee said. This announcement is beside the immediate financial aid package announced by the committee immediately after the cyclone.
The Relief and Shelter Sector at the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) has distributed an immediate financial aid of RO 1,000 to families whose houses were damaged during cyclone Shaheen after the field teams visited the affected people and houses.
Cyclone Shaheen wreaked havoc in northern parts of the country on October 3 after landfall in these areas. Several houses, roads and bridges bore the brunt of the adverse weather condition. The cyclone claimed lives of 15 people.
