Muscat: One person died and 30 more required rescue from incidents caused by rains across parts of the Sultanate and adjoining areas since Sunday evening.
Areas of North and South Al Batinah, Al Dakhiliyah, South Sharqiyah and Muscat received significant amounts of rain leading to fast-flowing wadis in some places. The rain also caused flooding and the formation of stagnant pools of water in the capital, where the downpour was stronger.
Royal Oman Police (ROP) personnel were called to help two expatriates who had been trapped inside their vehicle, owing to the rains. “One of them was suffering from shortness of breath inside their vehicle, which was in a pool of water in Jibroo in Wilayat Muttrah,” said the ROP. “He died shortly after being rescued, due to poor health.”
ROP teams were called to assist in many parts of Oman during the rains. In two separate incidents, three more expatriates and two Omani nationals in Ghubra required assistance after their vehicle had got caught in the rain. Two women in Al Khuwair were also helped by the ROP personnel.
Meanwhile, a bus on Sultan Qaboos Street also got stuck in a pool of water caused by the rain, requiring Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority personnel to rescue seven people trapped inside.
The rain caused disruptions in the flow of traffic in areas of the capital: Motorists coming on the Mountain Road connecting Amerat to Bausher were unable to travel, owing to the overflowing wadis and mud deposited on the roads.
Traffic was also interrupted on Sultan Qaboos Street. “Please be careful and take alternative routes,” said ROP in its advisory to motorists.
Meanwhile, occupants of a house in Wilayat Muttrah were forced to leave their home and seek shelter on the roof of their building, after water from an overflowing wadi burst into their home. Rain water also flooded the famed Muttrah Souq, as well as many other roads and public spaces that run between homes and shops in the area.
“From Sunday evening until about 9am on Monday morning, our operations centre had received 20 reports of vehicles stranded due to the flooding,” said an official from the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority (CDAA).
“Thirty people have required rescue… fortunately, they are all in good health,” he said. “We were also required to assist in another incident where four people needed to be evacuated and they are all unharmed,” he said.
In the aftermath of the rain, Muscat Municipality has already begun its cleanup job, deploying bulldozers to remove debris from roads and water tankers to mop up all of the rainwater. Cleanup crews have also been sent to rain-hit parts of the capital to make the roads safe for motorists and pedestrians once again.
From Sunday evening until 10 am on Monday, Wilayat Nakhal in South Al Batinah had received the highest amount of rainfall at 55mm, followed by Bausher in Muscat (45mm) and Barka and Musannah in South Al Batinah, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources.
Muttrah received about 8mm of rain and Amerat 2mm. The authorities continue to ask people to exercise caution in view of the rough weather conditions.
