Cyclone Shaheen kills six in Iran, three in Oman

The toll of the passage of tropical cyclone Shaheen is particularly heavy. In striking Sunday in the Gulf region, it killed six people in Iran and three in the Sultanate of Oman. The United Arab Emirates has also been put on alert.

In Oman, strong winds of 139 km / h were recorded about 65 kilometers from the deserted capital Muscat, whose streets were inundated by muddy water, before a relative decrease during the day. Sunday and Monday were declared public holidays by the authorities “due to bad weather conditions”.

A deadly landslide

Rescuers removed the bodies of two men who died from their home following a landslide in the Ar-Roussayl region, west of the capital, according to the national authority for the management of crises. A child has died in a flash flood in the same area, while one person is missing, the same source added.

Some flights to and from Muscat have been suspended in order to “avoid any risk,” according to a tweet from the airport. The civil aviation authority has also asked the population not to go to areas at risk.

Distance learning courses in the United Arab Emirates

On the other side of the Gulf of Oman, in Iran, six people “lost their lives” in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan (south-east), said Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ali Nikzad, quoted by Icana, the assembly press agency. The cyclone’s epicenter was about 220 km off the coast of the province, the local meteorological official told the state agency Irna. “Parts of the infrastructure, including electrical installations and roads, have been damaged,” said provincial governor Hossein Modarres-Khiabani.

The United Arab Emirates, a neighboring country of Oman, also remain vigilant, their east coast at risk of being affected by the cyclone by Tuesday. Construction sites were suspended in Al-Ain, on the border with Oman, until Tuesday, authorities said. The pupils were called upon to take the courses at a distance. The Emirati authorities have also asked the population not to go to the beach or other potentially dangerous areas. “We want to assure everyone that the authorities concerned are on high alert and ready to face” any eventuality, they said.

In July, northern Oman had already been hit by torrential rains accompanied by gusts of wind and hail. The country recently reopened its doors to foreign tourists, having closed them almost throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, as the tourist season for this hot summer country is about to begin.