Manama: The Royal Oman Police official said that two more men died after their car was swept away in heavy flooding caused by rains in the aftermath of Cyclone Mekunu.
The two men died on Sunday morning in Salalah bringing the total death toll in the country to six.
Cyclone Mekunu made landfall as a Category 2 storm on the coast of Dhofar early on Saturday.
An Omani diplomat in Bahrain said that the authorities had taken several precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the citizens and residents ahead of the cyclone.
As the storm subsided, clean-up operations were undertaken by security forces and emergency services. Thousands of volunteers signed up to help with the aftermath, reports in Muscat said. While the meteorology directorate said that “the direct effects of the tropical system are over” the flooding aftermath has kept thousands of people living near coastal areas in shelters.
On Sunday there were rain thunderstorms in Dhofar and Al Wusta governorates.
The labour ministry declared a three-day holiday for companies and establishments in the private sector, state news agency ONA reported on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Kuwait’s cabinet has tasked the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) and the Kuwait Relief Society (KRC) with offering urgent relief aid to the Yemeni island of Socotra which bore the brunt of the cyclone before it hit Oman.
Officials in Socotra said that five Yemenis and two Indian sailors had been killed while the fate of eight Indian sailors remains unknown.
Strong winds took out homes, closed roads and badly damaged communication, power and water networks.
The government declared the island a disaster zone.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have already dispatched planes loaded with food and medical assistance to help the around 1,000 families that had to be evacuated to ensure their safety.
Around 60,000 people live on the island.
On Friday, a UAE aid plane carrying 40 tonnes of humanitarian and food assistance landed in Socotra to support the cyclone-stricken islanders.
The UAE state news agency WAM reported on Sunday that the UAE had admitted 17 Yemenis injured by Cyclone Mekunu in its hospitals for medical treatment.
The initiative, by Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation (KF), is part of the UAE’s continuous support and its humanitarian efforts to support the Yemeni people, to alleviate their suffering and support them during the terrible times in their country, the agency said.
