History of cyclones in Dhofar

Muscat: According to experts, the Sultanate of Oman’s maritime location between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator makes it susceptible to cyclones, which have been hitting the country almost every year over the past decade.

With a vast coastline bordering the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, the Sultanate of Oman has regularly faced the wrath of tropical storms since 2007. Cyclone Gonu, which hit the country in 2007, inflicted several damages, including in Muscat, and was the first in several decades.

Tropical Cyclone Research and Review states, “Tropical cyclones are common over the Arabian Sea. However, many of these storms rarely reach the coastal areas of Oman with tropical cyclone intensity, and from historical data, they rarely enter the Sea of Oman. Gonu was the first destructive tropical cyclone to affect Muscat after the 1890 cyclone.

Climate change may increase the frequency and intensity of these events.” Here is the list of cyclones to hit the Dhofar Governorate over the years.

On May 24, 1959, an eye of a storm passed over southwestern Oman near Raysut with a windspeed of 167 km/h. The storm cut the power supply and wrecked many local houses. Salalah recorded 117 mm of rainfall, washing away the road connecting Salalah and Raysut. Strong waves destroyed several boats, including a dhow carrying 141 people, and all those aboard the boat were killed.

Among cyclones of the past ten years that hit the southern parts of the Sultanate of Oman includes Cyclone Chapala. After peaking as the second-strongest storm on record in the Arabian Sea in 2015, it moved away from the Sultanate of Oman. It ultimately became the first recorded storm to make landfall in Yemen as a very severe cyclonic storm, killing 11 people while dropping the equivalent of 10 years of rainfall.

The cyclone damaged several houses and displaced people.

In May 2018, Cyclone Mekunu made landfall in southwestern Oman after brushing the Yemeni island of Socotra. The cyclone killed 31 people, 20 in Socotra, four on the Yemeni mainland, and seven in Oman. Heavy rainfall created the first lakes in 20 years in the Empty Quarter, led to a severe locust infestation.

In 2002, officially known as Cyclonic Storm, ARB struck the Dhofar Governorate of Oman in May 2002. It developed on May 6 in the Arabian Sea and maintained a general west-northwest track for much of its duration. The system reached cyclonic storm status on May 9, meaning it attained wind speeds of greater than 65 km/h (40 mph), and on May 10, it made landfall near Salalah. The storm was rare in the sense that it was one of only twelve tropical cyclones on record to approach the Arabian Peninsula in the month of May.

The storm caused flooding, and several people drowned after the flooding swept away their vehicles.

Cyclonic Storm Keila developed in the western Arabian Sea in October 2011 and briefly intensified into a cyclonic storm. The storm quickly moved ashore near Salalah.

The storm brought heavy rainfall to Oman, reaching just over 700 mm (28 in) in the mountains near Salalah. Moisture from the storm spread across most of the country, causing flash flooding in Muscat. Floods from the storm killed 14 people, injured over 200, washed away hundreds of cars, and damaged buildings.

Oman is at risk of tropical cyclones because these conditions are active above the Indian Ocean from May to July and October to November. Cyclones formed in the Arabian Sea account for one per cent of all hurricanes in the world’s oceans but account for very high losses and damages.

Harith al Saifi, a climate researcher, has explained how countries like Oman could be better prepared to withstand the impact of cyclones while stressing the need for awareness, preparedness, and appropriate planning to reduce their impact.

“The rainfall associated with cyclones is enormous and equivalent to several years of rain,” he explained.