‘It was really frightening’

RELATIVES and friends of people working and living in cyclone-battered Oman have told of the fear they felt as they anxiously awaited for news in Bahrain.

More than 80 people were reported to have been killed when Cyclone Gonu hit Oman and Iran coasts last week with torrential rain and wind speeds of up to 74 mph (120 km/h).
Oman-based Christopher Dodwell, 25, whose family live in Diraz, spoke to GulfWeekly during the height of the storm last Wednesday, and said: “It’s really horrible and frightening.”
Mr Dodwell is an operations manager for transportation company DHL, and now lives near the coastal area of Azaiba in Oman. He said:
Everywhere is flooded. We are unable to go outside of our house. The water is knee-deep and the power lines are unsteady. My car is completely under water and totally messed up.
I think people here underestimated the strength of the cyclone. It is like watching the television news about hurricane Katrina. It may not be as bad as that, but it’s still frightening.
Mr Dodwell was forced to move from his first floor apartment to the third floor of the building he lived in until the weather improved.
His brother Kingsley, 28, a property sales executive, who lives in Bahrain’s Tashan area, said he was extremely worried about his brother’s safety during the drama especially as the mobile telephone network was constantly cutting off.
He said: “Our parents who are at the moment in New Zealand are very worried.”
One Omani, working in Bahrain, also told of the nightmare of waiting for news from home. He said: “There was a big mess. Huge damage was caused in Oman and most of the roads were flooded, broken or blocked. My family was safe but I was still worried.”
Thousands of people fled the low-lying areas as the strongest cyclone to threaten the Arabian Peninsula in 60 years blasted Oman’s eastern coast with strong winds and waves.
Cyclone-force winds of Gonu, which had been churning northwest through the Indian Ocean, reached the Omani coastal towns of Sur and Ra’s al-Hadd.
Civil Defence officials said the storm dropped heavy rains on the capital, Muscat, and other nearby towns.
Cyclone Gonu had weakened somewhat during the day but still packed fearsome winds and churned up ocean waves of several feet.
Salem bin Ali bin Omar Bayacoob, the ambassador for Oman in Bahrain, said the death toll was officially 12 but the authorities had also reported missing people alongside the massive damage.
“The extent of the losses from the cyclone and its after-affects are being assessed,” he said.
He also extended the thanks of Sultan Qaboos of Oman to Bahrain’s King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Government and the people of the kingdom for “their heartfelt solidarity” with the Omanis.
He also thanked the Bahrain-based ambassadors and diplomats representing other countries for their sympathy and concern.