In Pictures: When Cyclone Shaheen hit Oman

Seven new deaths were recorded in Oman as a result of Cyclone Shaheen, and there were reports of people missing in North Al Batinah Governorate. This takes the total official death toll to 11.

The centre’s diameter was between 11 to 14 km. Video footage from local broadcasters showed vehicles submerged as people tried to make their way through muddy brown floodwater.

Flash floods in Oman as Shaheen dumps rain ahead of its landfall.

A general view shows Ansab Dam amid cyclone Shaheen in Oman's capital Muscat.

A car is partially submerged on a flooded street as Cyclone Shaheen makes landfall in Muscat Oman.

A SUV makes it way through a flooded street as Cyclone Shaheen makes landfall in Muscat Oman.

Cars are on a flooded street as Cyclone Shaheen makes landfall in Muscat.

Thousands of people have been evacuated and put up in emergency shelters.

Traffic suspended in all streets in Muscat except Muscat Expressway till the end of the direct impacts of Cyclone Shaheen. There will be an access only for emergency and humanitarian cases, state-run Oman News Agency said in a statement.

Gusty wind exceeding 45 knots is blowing over Muscat. The wind to intensify further as the wall of the tropical cyclone Shaheen approaches the coastline.

Oman earlier delayed and rescheduled flights to and from the airport of its capital city Muscat to Sunday evening or until further notice due to tropical storm Shaheen, the sultanate’s airports authority said on its official Twitter account.

Traffic is cut off in the governorates of North and South Al Batinah, and movement is not allowed except for emergency and humanitarian cases, due to the proximity of the eye of the cyclone to the area of its entry to the land and in anticipation of the expected heavy rain, which may reach 500 mm and the intensity of the accompanying winds, and for the safety of lives as reported by state-run Oman News Agency.

Oman has announced a two-day holiday for both public and private sectors on October 3 & 4 as the sultanate braces for cyclone Shaheen.

The capital city wore a cloudy look since morning. The strong winds were cool, and the sea seemed rough with waves crashing rapidly to the shore.

The Royal Oman Police have warned the general public to exercise caution and has advised not to venture to beaches and sea shores as the sea turns rough and choppy.

Relief centres in the Wilayat of Bausher, Muscat, receive many families affected by the tropical cyclone Shaheen, said in a statement tweeted by state-run Oman News Agency.

Most of the oil-exporting country’s five million people live in and around Muscat.