Hikaa makes landfall in Oman

Tropical storm Hikaa lashed central Oman with high winds and torrential rainfall on Tuesday evening, according to Oman’s weather monitoring authority.

A family of seven members was rescued by a group of Omanis after they got trapped in heavy rains due to the storm.

A statement by the Oman National Emergency Management Centre read: “A family of seven was stranded by Hikaa’s passing, but they were rescued by Omanis.”

Hikaa had initially begun as a tropical depression over the Arabian Sea, characterised by heavy winds and rough seas, before accelerating into a tropical storm, and then becoming a cyclone on Tuesday morning.

It was subsequently recategorised as a tropical storm by the Public Authority of Civil Aviation (PACA) on Tuesday evening.

n a statement, PACA said, “The category of the tropical system Hikaa has gone back to ‘tropical storm’, since its windspeed around the centre now range between 45-55 knots.” The storm brought with it waterlogged roads and fast-flowing wadis – some of them overflowing in the Sharqiyah and Al Wusta governorates.
Duqm airport

“The weather station of Duqm airport recorded a mean wind of 52 knots and gusting of 67 knots at 6.25 pm accompanied with heavy rain,” Oman’s meteorological department said.

Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) evacuated people who found themselves stranded in Shannah, the crossing point between the mainland and Masirah Island. As a precaution, several public transport services had temporarily ceased operations to these regions.

The National Ferries Company, which operates regular boats between Shannah and Masirah – the only way to get to the island – had temporarily halted its ferry schedules. Mwasalat, the national road transport company, had also considered ceasing those bus routes that involved travel to Sharqiyah and Al Wusta.

Schools in the affected regions have also been shut following announcements over the expected impact of the cyclone. An official from the Ministry of Education said, “The Ministry of Education decided to suspend study in all public and private schools in Al Sharqiyah South and Al Wusta Governorates starting from Tuesday afternoon 24 September, until Thursday evening, 26 September.”