Gonu's Fury Kills 15

Cyclone Gonu faded out into a tropical storm as it headed to Iran, but killed 15 people and left a trail of destruction in Oman.

Having peaked as a maximum-force Category Five hurricane on Tuesday, it was down to a Category One on Wednesday and a tropical storm of 72kph by Thursday.

Ahmad al-Harthi, head of Oman's meteorological department, said: "As far as Oman is concerned it is over. It caused a lot of havoc in terms of high seas, rain, winds and floods."

Twelve people were confirmed dead in Oman but the death toll could rise, relief officials said, as flooding was still hindering access to some areas.

Three people were killed and nine injured in southern Iran due to the storm, Iran state television said.

A disaster relief official in the south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan said there had been damage to roads, infrastructure and houses.

UAE

In the Emirates, Gonu dropped off to a low pressure system at 7:00 am local time on Thursday, the Weather Forecast Centre said.

According to the centre, dangerously high waves on the eastern coast would subside and would "lead to an improvement in the weather condition".

Fujairah Port was reopened on Thursday morning. Director General Captain Musa Morad said there had been no damage at all.

Raging waves had breached the Fujairah coast on Tuesday and flooded the streets, causing chaos and panic among tourists and residents.

But after emergency vehicles rushed to put up impromptu levees and tankers pumped the water out, by the evening the roads were clear again.

No one was reported hurt and property damage was minimal, emergency workers said.

At the Dibba coastal road, the waves had disintegrated parts of the barrier. A Kalba court judge decided not to heed warnings and crossed the battered road anyway:

• Betting his life on his Land Cruiser, the judge zoomed down the wet road.
• "We couldn't stop him he said. He was late for court and just went," said officer Khalifa Sulaiman.
• Just when everyone thought he would make it, a 20-footer blasted over the barrier, engulfing his 4x4.
• As the plume of water faded, the Land Cruiser spun out of control to land backwards in a water-filled ditch.
• Two Pakistani municipal workers who had braved the waves all day got on their payloader and drove it down to the worst part of the road where the judge was stuck.
• Positioning the payloader between the waves and the Land Cruiser, the two men got down and helped the judge onto the Caterpillar.
• Then, risking their lives even further, one of them got into the Toyota and the other attached a rope.

As of 8pm yesterday, the only access to Fujairah was through the Masafi highway after the Dibba to Khor Fakkan coastal road was closed off.

All roads leading to Kalba were closed off as well, including the new Kalba highway, as virtually the entire town was flooded.

* Gonu means a bag made of palm leaves in the language of the Maldives.