Kalba/Fujairah/Khor Fakkan: The UAE’s east coast has been spared the brunt of cyclone Ashooba that swept up strong winds and waves in the neighbouring Oman Sea.
Cloud cover lifted on Thursday morning and sea conditions near the coast were calmer following Wednesday’s swell caused by strong winds.
In the seaside Kalba town, the storm’s force had on Wednesday pushed swells onto Corniche Road, which was dewatered by Thursday. A small section of the road remained closed in the morning.
Residents said there were no reports of damage or casualties.
Further down the coast in Furjairah emirate, fishermen said they were asked by coast guard officials to stay inland and avoid going to out to sea till Friday.
Meanwhile, in Khor Fakkan a group of surfers said they were disappointed to find the waves were smaller than expected following the passing of Ashooba.
“The waves are good but we thought they would be bigger. We follow the weather forecasts to see where we can catch big waves,” said German surfer Sebastian.
Thursday’s cooler and cloudier morning gave way to a hot and sunny afternoon with no sign of a cyclone brewing in the high seas off the coast of Oman.
UAE authorities, hotels near the coast and seaside businesses had been on standby for the tropical storm, but the local weather did not cause major incidents.
The National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) on Thursday morning predicted “moderate to rough sea at times in the Arabian Gulf”.
According to the latest update from NCMS on the position of Ashooba, taken shortly after 3am on Thursday, the cyclone was centred at a distance of 220km from the Omani coast, with a surface wind speed of up to 82km/h around the centre of the storm.
