After the storm
The sun has started shining again in Muscat, as residents emerge to examine the destruction wrought by Cyclone Gonu.
Inspired by Jenna who left a comment saying that many videos had been uploaded to YouTube, I have put together a playlist of 24 of the uploaded videos, called The impact of Cyclone Gonu on Oman. This selection shows footage of Gonu in progress, and the aftermath with substantial damage to roads and communications. The subsiding flood waters have left 20cms of sediment in places. Much bigger boulders and rubble have probably been brought down by flash floods in the wadis. Homes have been flooded.
Gulf News reports that Oman News Agency has announced that "at least 32 people had been killed and 30 were missing."
I was rather bemused to note that people had actually gone out into the thick of the storm to film. It makes interesting viewing, but were they potentially adding to the work of the Civil Defence authorities? In Muscat, it seems that the easiest way to get around at the moment is by foot or in huge SUVs.
Power must have been restored to some areas if people are able to get back on to the Internet and upload their videos. All the footage is of Greater Muscat and environs. There is no news of what has happened in other parts of the country, such as Sur and Sohar.
The Tropical Storm Risk website no longer recognises any cyclones, so Gonu has petered out over Iran. The last map that I saw of wind affected areas, reproduced below, shows that Sur and its hinterland were hit by Hurricane Category One winds, which almost touched Muscat. Muscat itself lay in the zone of Tropical Storm winds.
More photos arrived in my inbox this morning via a private mailing list. I hope the sender will not mind my reproducing them here.
Damaged road at Al Khodh/Southern Marbela
A member of the Royal Oman Police uses a jetski to negotiate the floods and visit stranded householders
MacDonalds on the edge of Wadi Aday in Qurum almost submerged by the flood waters. How many other buildings have suffered similarly because they were built on land prone to flooding?
The Qurum high road to Darsait has been broken, where storm waters raced through a wadi
Qurum Park, a popular recreational area near the shore, and not so very far from the Muscat Intercontinental Hotel, completely under water.
Shara al Hub, the 'Love' Road. A branch of Starbucks is stranded on what is now an island in the middle distance.
Inspired by Jenna who left a comment saying that many videos had been uploaded to YouTube, I have put together a playlist of 24 of the uploaded videos, called The impact of Cyclone Gonu on Oman. This selection shows footage of Gonu in progress, and the aftermath with substantial damage to roads and communications. The subsiding flood waters have left 20cms of sediment in places. Much bigger boulders and rubble have probably been brought down by flash floods in the wadis. Homes have been flooded.
Gulf News reports that Oman News Agency has announced that "at least 32 people had been killed and 30 were missing."
I was rather bemused to note that people had actually gone out into the thick of the storm to film. It makes interesting viewing, but were they potentially adding to the work of the Civil Defence authorities? In Muscat, it seems that the easiest way to get around at the moment is by foot or in huge SUVs.
Power must have been restored to some areas if people are able to get back on to the Internet and upload their videos. All the footage is of Greater Muscat and environs. There is no news of what has happened in other parts of the country, such as Sur and Sohar.
The Tropical Storm Risk website no longer recognises any cyclones, so Gonu has petered out over Iran. The last map that I saw of wind affected areas, reproduced below, shows that Sur and its hinterland were hit by Hurricane Category One winds, which almost touched Muscat. Muscat itself lay in the zone of Tropical Storm winds.
More photos arrived in my inbox this morning via a private mailing list. I hope the sender will not mind my reproducing them here.
Damaged road at Al Khodh/Southern Marbela
A member of the Royal Oman Police uses a jetski to negotiate the floods and visit stranded householders
MacDonalds on the edge of Wadi Aday in Qurum almost submerged by the flood waters. How many other buildings have suffered similarly because they were built on land prone to flooding?
The Qurum high road to Darsait has been broken, where storm waters raced through a wadi
Qurum Park, a popular recreational area near the shore, and not so very far from the Muscat Intercontinental Hotel, completely under water.
Shara al Hub, the 'Love' Road. A branch of Starbucks is stranded on what is now an island in the middle distance.
Comments
bowsher wrote:
06/09/07 12:05:37
jenna wrote:
have you seen http://www.theoildrum.com/n... ? interesting comments about how much damage and how long for oil to be back up to normal.
06/09/07 16:05:06
It was one thing seeing these pictures, being there and observing the impact first hand hits really hard. I went to the Ansab and Sunub areas today to distribute drinking water. The Ansab junction and the road leading from it for about 1km is non-existant. Hadn't I known a road existed there before, I wouldn't have noticed it - the scale of infrastructure destruction is massive. The Ansab dam looked ok from distance, contrary to un-substantiated reports of it being breached.
More later, got to go.