Rains lash Sultanate

Muscat, Dec 8 - Traffic crawled to a snail’s pace and motorists were stuck in the road for hours amid moderate to heavy rainfall across various governorates on Sunday. Similar conditions might continue for the next two days strengthening cold weather in the Sultanate. As a precautionary measure, classes were suspended in all schools, except Dhofar and Al Wusta, on Sunday by the Ministry of Education. Police and civil defense officials swung into action and rescued several people stranded in flooded wadis in Ibri, Dhank and Rustaq,  The Wilayat of Ibri received highest rainfall with 123 mm followed by Rustaq (68 mm), Barka (65 mm), Dhank (56 mm) and Muscat (4 mm). Heavy rains poured on Ibri for 12 hours causing many wadis to overflow and disrupting the traffic movement in several roads. Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) said thunderstorms will continue over most of the Sultanate accompanied by winds and hail which may cause flash floods in wadis Heavy rains (between 30 mm to 60 mm) have been predicted in Al Dhahirah, Al Buraimi, North al Batinah, South al Batinah, Muscat, Al Dakhliyah and North al Sharqiyah. Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) urged people to take safety measures, stay indoors and go out only if necessary during rains. According to Oman Meteorology, the Sultanate will be affected by a trough of low pressure up to December 10. Muscat Municipality urged people to stay away from water bodies, electrical connections, street lights, project excavation, volatile devices and report any emergency to Call Centre. Minimum temperatures are expected to be 18 degrees in Muscat, 26 degrees in Salalah, 16 degrees in Nizwa, 20 degrees in Suhar, 17 degrees in Ibri, 15 degrees in Rustaq and 4 degrees in Jabal Shams.