VIDEO: Nine dead as cyclone lashes Oman, Iran
- Last updated: October 4, 2021 | 13:12
Gulf Today Report
At least nine people were killed in Oman and Iran on Sunday as tropical Cyclone Shaheen pummelled parts of their coastlines, authorities said.
Rescue teams pulled the bodies of two Asian workers from their home hit by a landslide in the Rusayl industrial area of Muscat province, Oman's National Committee for Emergency Management (NCEM) said.
The storm with wind speeds up to 139 kilometres an hour was due to cross Oman's north coast in the evening.
Across the sea in Iran, six people were killed in Chabahar port in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, parliament's news agency ICANA reported, citing deputy speaker Ali Nikzad.
"Infrastructure, including electrical facilities and roads, was damaged," provincial governor Hossein Modarres-Khiabani told Iran's official IRNA news agency.
The eye of the storm was located 220 kilometres (130 miles) off the coast of the province, he said.
Vehicles were tyre-deep in water and streets were empty in the capital city of Muscat.
Rescue teams pulled the bodies of two men from their home after it was hit by a landslip in the Rusayl industrial area of Muscat province, Oman's National Committee for Emergency Management said.
A child died and another person was reporting missing in flash floods in the same province, it added.
Some flights to and from Muscat International Airport were suspended "to avoid any risks", the airport said, while the Civil Aviation Authority urged people to avoid low-lying areas and valleys.
Oman declared a two-day national holiday on Sunday and Monday and shuttered schools "due to the adverse climate conditions", the Oman News Agency (ONA) said.
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Earlier thousands of residents in coastal areas were urged to leave their homes and head to emergency shelters on Saturday as the Gulf state braced for tropical storm Shaheen to intensify into a category 1 tropical cyclone.
Due to the adverse climate conditions being witnessed by the Sultanate and, in coordination with the National Committee for Emergency Management (NCEM) and to ensure safety of public and private employees, it was decided that Sunday and Monday (Oct3-4, 2021) will be an official holiday for employees of the departments of the state administrative apparatus, other legal entities and private sector's establishments, except the Governorates of Dhofar and Al Wusta.
Private sector business owners may keep their employees working in the above-mentioned days, if deemed necessary to continue work during this holiday.
This is without prejudice to measures of health and occupational safety. In this case, the workers have to be compensated.