Cyclone bears down on Oman

oops1

Web posted at: 6/6/2007 1:5:49
Source ::: Agencies

  
Omanis look at high waves splashing on the rocks as cyclone Gonu approaches Muscat. (AFP)
Muscat • A cyclone packing huge winds of up to 260km an hour advanced towards this Gulf state yesterday, posing a potential threat to the key route for oil exports from the region.

Oman has evacuated about 7,000 people from coastal areas, while the weather service said Cyclone Gonu was expected to make landfall early today. The first signs of the cyclone, with winds of up to 260km an hour and waves up to 12 metres (40 feet), have already been felt along Oman’s coastal regions with torrential rains and pounding winds.

Around 8pm, the cyclone which was formed in the Indian Ocean, was about 122km from Al Hadd, on Oman’s eastern coast. It is expected to hit Al Hadd before dawn today and move round to Muscat and Oman’s shores on the Gulf of Oman by mid-afternoon.

The army, police and civil defence have all been mobilised. Residents of the island of Masirah as well as of Oman’s eastern coastline have sought refuge on higher ground.

  
A handout satellite picture released by the UAE Civil Aviation Department shows the cyclone approaching the Gulf states. (Reuters)

Schools, as well as the public and private sectors were ordered to shut down from today until Sunday morning. Muscat’s airport remained operative and there had been no decision yet to close it. Dark clouds engulfed the capital. An air of quiet apprehension hung over Muscat. The streets of the capital were mostly traffic free and many shops and restaurants closed early. Some people decided to venture out despite warnings to stay indoors.

National carrier Oman Air stopped all flights from 8pm. Ziad Karim Al Haremi, chief executive of the Oman Aviation Services, Oman Air’s parent, said it would move its planes outside the country or to safer areas in the southwest.

The television station urged people to stay in their homes or go to buildings that could withstand strong winds, to avoid highways and to turn off electricity.

Oman’s Sur export terminal, which handles 10 million tonnes per year of LNG exports, would be closed for at least 48 hours, a shipper said. Sultan Qaboos port was also closed. The Mina Al Fahal oil terminal closed during the day as storms hit the area. Oman also suspended production at the Mukhaizna oil field.

Gonu, which means a bag made of palm leaves in the language of the Maldives, is predicted to brush by the east coast of Oman and turn to the north, toward southeastern Iran. Gonu peaked at 160 mph, and has been slowly weakening, the Weather Channel (www.weatherchannel.com) said.

The Musandam peninsula on the northern-most tip of Oman which juts into the Strait of Hormuz could also be affected, the weather service said. Except for oil from Saudi Arabia, all crude exports from the Gulf states go through the strait.

The Saudi weather service said it did not expect any “direct impact” on the oil-producing central and eastern regions of the kingdom. A spokesman for the UAE meteorology department said the cyclone would have little impact on the country. Kuwait’s oil refining company said everything was working as normal there.

oops1

不好意思，发错了，请斑竹删除