Measured recovery in cyclone-hit areas

There has been measured recovery in cyclone-hit areas of North and South Al Batinah. Cyclone Shaheen had hit the northern coasts of the Sultanate last Sunday.

Civil societies, voluntary teams, army and police forces have been working in full swing to prepare and clean the schools for the students to return safely to the classrooms.

The authorities said that 90 per cent of the roads in Batinah north are now functioning normally. Thanks to the joint governmental and societal efforts, life began to slowly recover in the areas affected by cyclone Shaheen, leaving mass human and material damages.

On Friday, the largest voluntary campaign was launched to provide relief to the wilayats of Khaboura and Suwaiq in the North Al Batinah Governorate to support citizens and residents affected by the tropical condition.

This campaign supports the efforts of the Ministerial Committee, which His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik ordered to be formed to assess the damage caused by the tropical situation. It also works along with the response sectors of the National Committee for Emergency Management and the Main Military Committee for Emergency Management of the Sultan's Armed Forces.

The volunteer campaign works through 7 sectors in each of the two wilayats to provide several services, including general hygiene, distribution of needs and supplies, and support for the concerned authorities in providing basic services.

Ahmed bin Abdullah al Riyami, the Assistant Coordinator of the Relief and Shelter Sector, said that the number of volunteers is expected to reach more than 15,000 volunteers, as the sector works to supervise and organize roles in cooperation with the Sultan's Armed Forces and other relevant authorities.

Talking to ONA, he pointed out that a field survey was activated for all hard-to-reach areas to immediately and quickly provide relief. All supplies and aid were collected at the Al Khaboura Club headquarters, where they are sorted and distributed as an integrated food basket for the affected people.

The number of trucks of aid and assistance provided by citizens, institutions and charities reached 60 trucks per day, according to Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmed al Shamsi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Head of the Shelter and Relief Sector.

He mentioned that the campaign, which started on Friday, aims to organise the roles for each sector, where volunteers contribute to arranging the materials and transferring them to the eligible people of the Wilayat of Khaboura.

Regarding the homes that have become unsafe for the residents, al Shamsi indicated that the shelter and relief sector has worked to secure places to stay for everyone who feels that their home are not safe in these circumstances.

Cyclone Shaheen, which hit the Sultanate on the night of October 3, destroyed many electric poles, power stations and road lamps. The torrential wadis began descending at the first hours of the dawn last Sunday morning, sweeping and severely, adding more water, multiplying the damage, and causing the water to rise to great levels. The walls of many houses in the villages of the two willayats collapsed. The electricity was cut off after the poles fell.

Water supply was also cut off after the main water pipes broke in many areas. Besides, communications, roads, and other services were black out for 48 hours before gradually returning as rescue operations continued.

The National Committee for Emergency Management called upon entities that have licensed electricians to communicate with the call centre at Suwaiq police station to examine the electrical paths from the main complexes to the internal distribution networks in homes to ensure the safety of the main complexes and home residents in the willayat.

The Center said camps will be provided to accommodate these technicians, who will be distributed to the affected areas to help restore electricity to the damaged homes.

The Center warned against the use of electrical generators inside properties. Aiming at preserving the safety of everyone from the dangers of electric generators and to avoid the occurrence of cases of electric shock, it called on residents in the wilayats of Suwaiq, Khaboura and Saham to communicate with the electricity supplier company in the area in case they use generators inside the houses, indicating that operating those generators without coordination with the company may cause serious risks to the property owners and to the company's employees working to restore electricity service as soon as possible.