Downpour unleashes chaos in Muscat - Oman Daily Observer

2 OMAN
OMAN DAILY Observer
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011
Heavy rains wreak chaos in city
l From page 1
The torrent alarmed many
local inhabitants unused to the
sight of a raging flood tearing
through their neighbourhood.
Coursing down the Yiti road,
the deluge brought with it
mud, stones and other debris.
Parts of the blacktop have been
ripped away as well.
Hilal al Wahaibi, another
long-time resident of Hamriya,
commented: “I’ve never
experienced anything like this
in the more than 25 years I’ve
lived here. Even during Gonu,
things weren’t so bad.”
Mohammed Yassin, an
expatriate Pakistani, says the
flood devastated his picture
framing shop at Hamriya.
“I’ve lived and worked here at
Hamriya for the past 20 years,
but today’s flood is baffling. I
lost goods worth around RO
5,000 in the deluge.”
It is believed that the Hamriya
flood was triggered by
strong overflows from the
swollen Wadi Al Kabir whose
catchment bore the brunt of
yesterday’s downpour. The
runoff inundated Al Nahdha
Hospital, one of three tertiary
care institutions run by
the Ministry of Health in the
city. With inpatients wards under
water, the Civil Defence
pressed helicopters into service
to help airlift patients to
safety.
The skies over Muscat
opened up just after midday
yesterday catching many office-goers
by surprise despite
the weather advisories issued
by the Met Office. The incessant
rain rendered many streets
impassable, snarling traffic
and generally throwing normal
life out of gear. At Rex Road,
local youths doubled as traffic
wardens to get traffic flowing
again. With school buses
trapped in traffic, many schoolchildren
were seen trudging
home when the rains eased a
bit about an hour later.
At the Darsait junction,
raging flood waters flowed
over the road, depositing debris
and flotsam in the path of
traffic. Adding to the misery
on city streets was soil from
construction sites excavated
by utilities.
Meanwhile, the Met Office
has forecast more isolated
showers over the course of today.
Areas likely to be affected
are Muscat, Buraimi, Dakhiliyah,
Batinah North, Batinah
South and Dhahirah governorates.
Isolated showers and possibly
also occasional thundershowers
are predicted over
Dhofar, Wusta, North Sharqiya
and South Sharqiyah governorates.