Four killed as Cyclone Shaheen shakes Oman

Cairo, Oct 4 (EFE).- At least four people, including a child, have been killed due to heavy rains and floods in Oman as a cyclone that weakened into a tropical storm passed through the Gulf state Monday.

The Indian Meteorological Department said that Cyclone Shaheen was moving west with wind gusts reaching up to 90 km/h in the northern part of Oman, and predicted it would turn into heavy showers in the next few hours.

The death toll increased from three to four after a missing citizen was found dead in al-Batinah Region, the official Oman News Agency ONA reported.

Emergency rescue and search units continued to look for another missing person in the hardest-hit Omani capital, Muscat, where on Sunday a child was found dead in the floods and two Asian workers were killed when a landslide hit their house.

Cyclone Shaheen made landfall on the Omani northern coast, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) late Sunday, with 150km/h gusts of wind.

Although heavy rains often occur in these coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula, cyclones are uncommon.

After going 11 years without recording cyclones, three storms hit Oman and Yemen between 2018 and 2019 and resulted in a dozen deaths and material damage.EFE

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