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The Rains

 
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washingtonpost



Joined: 28 Nov 2009
Posts: 61

PostPosted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 4:27 pm    Post subject: The Rains Reply with quote

Once again the rains are lashing Oman causing death and destruction.

Who can forget the devastation caused by Cyclone Gonu in 2007?

Having once lived in Florida through a hurricane I know what it's like to lose someone and have your home destroyed.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/six-washed-away-in-oman-rains-1.552993




Six washed away in Oman rains
With heavy rains lashing Muscat, the education ministry run schools were shut and community and private schools turned away students today morning as a precaution in the wake of heavy rains and forecast of thunderstorm.

By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau Chief Published: 15:04 December 13, 2009
Image Credit: Gulf News Muscat: Six people have died and another is missing as heavy rains lashed Muscat and northern parts of Oman.

�All the deaths and the missing person were washed away in sudden flooding of wadis,� Captain Rashid Bin Suleiman Al Abri, a spokesperson for the Royal Oman Police, told Gulf News.

He said that the police were continuing search operations for a missing expatriate after he was pulled by currents in Amerat area in Muscat. �Four of the six dead are expatriates and two are Omanis,� he revealed.

Three people died in the Dhakliya, north-west of Muscat, due to heavy rains. A group of ten went to take pictures of rains and flooding when they were trapped in the wadi but were rescued by the police.

Most low-lying areas in Muscat were flooded causing a traffic jam. �I took three hours in the morning to reach my work place,� said banker Fatima Al Balushi, who travels everyday from the outskirts of Muscat to the banking district.

�We are aware of flooding in low lying areas and are working tirelessly to clear these areas,� said Khaleel Al Balushi, Director of Information at the Muscat Municipality.
The officials of the Department of Meteorology in Oman were incommunicado even as dark clouds hovered over Muscat late afternoon today (Sunday).

According to weather website, wunderground.com, a thunderstorm is likely to hit Muscat on Monday.

With heavy rains lashing Muscat, the education ministry run schools were shut and community and private schools turned away students today morning as a precaution in the wake of heavy rains and forecast of thunderstorm.

Muscat received highest, 18,8mm, rainfall till late Saturday night while Buraimi, bordering Al Ain, received 15.6 mm rainfall.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This happens every time there is a heavy rain in Oman - and likely every desert land. Many people flock out to watch it because they love the rain, and end up being caught.

VS
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Neil McBeath



Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 277
Location: Saudi Arabia

PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:47 am    Post subject: The rains Reply with quote

In defence of some of those who lost their lives last week, can I point out that it had nothing to do with "them" loving the rains.

Firstly, the Capital Area had five consecutive days of rain last week. Anyone who has spent any length of time in Oman knows that these are freak weather conditions.

Secondly, on Sunday night, a particularly fierce deluge occurred at the height of the rush hour.

Thirdly, the fatalities occured in Wadi Adai, which is still recoving from the impact of Cyclone Gonu. The Government is constructing a new road that will be weather-proof - it's being carved out of the cliff faces, and will have a bridge 200 feet above the wadi bottom, but at the moment traffic still has to use the resurfaced road that was constructed after Gonu.

A combination of flash flood, roadworks and heavy traffic was fatal. Two of the dead were passengers in a car returning from the College of Advanced Technology, another was the father of a teenage boy at the Bangladeshi School.

The incidents have received extensive coverage in the Omani press and no one disputes the statement made by the ROP and quoted in washingtonpost's initial posting.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:58 pm    Post subject: Re: The rains Reply with quote

Neil McBeath wrote:
In defence of some of those who lost their lives last week, can I point out that it had nothing to do with "them" loving the rains.

Fine Neil... of course you are right, as always. Omanis hate the rain and never rush out to watch the wadis flow. No one has ever been caught in the not uncommon winter flash floods before.

VS
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Neil McBeath



Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 277
Location: Saudi Arabia

PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:20 am    Post subject: The rains Reply with quote

VS,

Good try, but you are changing the subject.

Washingtonpost gave a straightforward account of a situation. You chipped in your twopennyworth, based on a false assumption i.e. the casualties were rubber-neckers.

They were not.

There is no need to get what Al Gore called "snippy" just because I am in Oman, and know the situation, and you are not, and don't.

For what it's worth, by the by, Omanis probably DO hate the rain by this time. It's raining again in Muscat today, and one of my SQU students has been trapped in his village for the past two days.
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norwalkesl



Joined: 22 Oct 2009
Posts: 366
Location: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-China

PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In Arizona people often drive into raging creeks around Phoenix. Every year one or two people self-select themselves out of the gene pool. This happens everywhere. People simply have no clue about how powerful 3" or 6" of rushing water is and what it will do to a car, truck or person on foot. The best solution is always to go up 10 feet and to never cross running water.
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Exactly. Every year in Oman there were warnings from the media - with every prediction of rains - trying to keep people following the advice to stay away from the rushing wadis. I was very impressed at how organized the highway system was to try to avoid this. The low areas where the waters would cross in a "normal rain" (whatever that used to be) has a series of posts on each side - with measurements - so that you could see the level and if a car could get through. Also the ROP was usually out there very quickly to stop those that tried to ignore the easy to see problem. But every year people would get caught up in it.

I winter in the Phoenix area now and noticed that it is similar here. Now if you get caught in the rushing water here and they have to rescue you, you have to pay the cost. Helicopter rescue isn't cheap... plus you get a ticket.

VS
(As to NM... you reap what you sow... I was much politer than you deserved...)
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Neil McBeath



Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 277
Location: Saudi Arabia

PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:31 am    Post subject: The Rains Reply with quote

VS,

I had no idea that politeness was a pragmatic concept with which you were even vaguely familiar.

As ryder pointed out on another thread (before you successfully scared him away) "you can dish it out, but you can't take it."
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desultude



Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 614

PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone seen that "power-drink" commercial where the Arab boy go racing out to surf when a hurricane is declared? It really pisses me off, because I grew up in Florida where people die every year trying to ride the limits of a hurricane.

On the other hand, I fully understand. I wish I had seen one of the racing flooded wadis- but I have learned respect for the ravages of nature.

I actually think it is, in the larger scheme of things, good that we are still gobsmack in the face of nature. Healthy respect and awe for her power may help keep us a bit humble.
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