(The Aftermath: Al Nahdha Hospital in Muscat this afternoon)
Wow. Well, it's been raining non-stop in different parts of Oman today (heavily in Salalah and Muscat). Unfortunately there has been bad flooding in Muscat. Most of you may know already that Al Nahdha Hospital is under water and that all patients were evacuated and transferred to Khawla Hospital & the Royal Hospital. Apparently several parts of Ruwi are flooded as well.
As for Dhofar, it has been raining heavily in town and in the mountains. The road to the town of Sadah east of Salalah is blocked and the coast guard had to come to the rescue (same situation in Mahoot, where over 100 families had to be evacuated due to dangerous flooding). Apparently a girls' school has partially collapsed in Hadbeen, a tiny village east of Sadah. Rumor has it that six people have lost their lives (the info was given on an Arab channel but we have yet to hear an official statement from the ROP, and I doubt we'll ever hear one even if there were deaths). According to students in Salalah, a young man from Rustaq drowned in a wadi last night. They gave me his name, so I'm inclined to believe them.
As for Dhofar, it has been raining heavily in town and in the mountains. The road to the town of Sadah east of Salalah is blocked and the coast guard had to come to the rescue (same situation in Mahoot, where over 100 families had to be evacuated due to dangerous flooding). Apparently a girls' school has partially collapsed in Hadbeen, a tiny village east of Sadah. Rumor has it that six people have lost their lives (the info was given on an Arab channel but we have yet to hear an official statement from the ROP, and I doubt we'll ever hear one even if there were deaths). According to students in Salalah, a young man from Rustaq drowned in a wadi last night. They gave me his name, so I'm inclined to believe them.
The question is .... why wasn't the government prepared for this?!!! Why weren't people forewarned? People following Wunderground and Tropical Storm Risk knew it was coming and knew how bad it was days ago, so why didn't authorities prepare people? It's embarassing what happens to this country after a little rainstorm! There wasn't even any wind in Muscat today and you can see the damage a day of rain can cause!
PS (On a more positive note, Darbat Waterfalls in Dhofar have come back to life!!!!)
The situation in Al Nahda Hospital (which is below the level of the main road) was made worse because people double park on the narrow lane outside the hospital so that cars find it very difficult to squeeze past - lots of driver-less cars floating along in the flood simply crash into them and ......
ReplyDeleteHow is the situation in Salalah now? We were planning to drive there from Dubai for the Eid Hols... :(
ReplyDeleteSix deaths were announced by the police, three in jalan bani bu ali, one in rustaq and two in maawil... all reported by local media as well. enough warning was given since monday, but adventurous nature of people cost them their lives... to drive through flooded wadi, jump in pool of water with electricity poles around etc can only cause loss of lives. The government has been well prepared all the time Gony, Phet but people have ignored warning and paid the price. al Nahda hospital area flooding was new and wasn't so bad even during gonu.
ReplyDeleteBest bet is to rely on other sources for preparation and disaster management. Help yourself & fam. & others through the blog. There's a system behind this 1 & last I checked it was heading toward masirah but may turn & hit Pakistan by late nxt week. Any word from local media on this one?
ReplyDeleteOman being prepared for rain is a bit like the UK being prepared for snow.
ReplyDelete