MUSCAT – Torrential rains in northern Oman and the United Arab Emirates have killed six people this week, local media reported on Thursday.
Omani police on Thursday found one body that had been swept away in a flash flood in the northern district of Nizwa, and another in a car that sank into the mud in a flooded valley in the northwestern area of Al-Buraimi, the Shabiba daily reported.
The two fatalities brought Oman’s death toll to five, the paper said. The Times of Oman newspaper said heavy rain had hit northern areas of the sultanate – which is prone to thunderstorms – since Sunday. Images posted on social media on Thursday showed cars stuck in gushing riverbeds and rescue teams using ropes to pull people out of the water.
In UAE, a seven-year-old boy drowned on Wednesday after he was trapped in a car that was caught in floods in the border area of Hatta, The National daily reported. In Dubai, the weather was calm on Thursday but several streets remained flooded after unusually heavy rain and high winds hit many parts of the UAE the previous day.
Flights at Abu Dhabi airport were suspended for several hours on Wednesday, while the emirate’s stock market said it suspended trading and cancelled all morning deals after many traders could not reach the bourse. Schools have been closed since Wednesday in both Gulf countries due to the storm.
The Award for The UAE Rain Storm Video of the Day goes to this guy. via @AbdallaTaryam pic.twitter.com/Rav6ZlZQhW
— ????? ???? ??????? (@SultanAlQassemi) March 9, 2016
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UAE’s annual rainfall stands at 78 millimetres (three inches), more than 15 times less than the amount for an average year in Britain. But the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology said some 294 millimetres of rainfall were recorded on Wednesday near Al-Ain.