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Gonu leaves 35 dead
08/06/2007 11:34 - (SA)
Muscat, Oman - People dragged soaked bedding and carpets from homes after cyclone Gonu's rains sent torrents of water and mud surging through Oman's seaside capital, a city often called the Arab world's tidiest.
After pummelling normally hot and dry Oman and Iran's southeastern coast, Gonu weakened to a tropical storm and was expected to dissipate into a rainstorm by Thursday night as it moved over the sea toward Iran. At least 35 people were dead, most of them in Oman, and 30 were missing.
The storm spared the region's oil installations, and oil prices dipped on world markets.
People told of spending a night in fear as turgid water flooded their homes, carrying away refrigerators and furniture and leaving streets gouged by sinkholes and caked in mud.
"The water broke through the walls. It came inside the house. It swept everything out," said Nidhal al-Masharafi, 31, who spent the night on his rooftop with his wife and six children.
He said he found his 2006 Subaru Outback a half mile away sitting atop a taxi.
Grassy fields lay under several feet of water, and lush palm and eucalyptus groves were flattened. Strong waves still battered a beachfront normally thronged with European tourists, and the usually sparkling blue sea resembled a foamy chocolate milk.
The capital became a lake
"The capital, Muscat, became a lake," said a spokesperson for the Oman Royal Police, Abdullah al-Harthi.
Despite earlier predictions the storm could disrupt the oil market, analysts said on Thursday that its impact on prices was minimal, with most of the upward movement occurring when the news broke that Gonu was headed toward Oman.
The Iranian state-owned Shana oil and energy news website said Iran would stop operations at two offshore platforms as a precaution, but there were no reports of difficulties at Iranian oil installations.
"Everything is running as usual," Bahram Narimanian, spokesperson of Iran's Offshore Oil Company, told The Associated Press.
The storm's sustained winds on Thursday had declined to 65.98km/h, less than half the 152.88km/h recorded on Wednesday, the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said.
Even with the weaker wind, Gonu was believed to be the strongest cyclone to hit Oman since record-keeping started in 1945.
At least 32 Gonu-related death were reported in Oman, including members of police rescue squads, and 30 others were reported missing, said al-Harthi, the police spokesperson. Rescue teams were searching for victims using helicopters and boats, he said.
Iranian state TV's website said two government workers taking emergency supplies to a flooded area were killed on Wednesday when a river overflowed and flipped their truck in Jask.
A third Iranian died in the port city of Bandar Abbas from a car accident blamed on low visibility from the bad weather, state TV said.
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