MUSCAT – The eye of cyclone is 75 kilometres away from the city of Salalah. Mekunu, which may be upgraded to Category 3, is expected to make landfall on Friday night. More than 800mm of rain is expected.
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“Latest observations show that tropical Cyclone Mekunu has intensified to category 2,” with high wind speeds, Oman’s directorate general of Meteorology said on Twitter.
The centre said the eye of the storm was expected to make landfall on the southern coast of the sultanate at 2000 local time (1600 GMT).
The city of Salalah, the second largest in Oman and capital of Dhofar province, was expected to bear the brunt of the onslaught.
Strong winds had already generated 12-metre-high waves. After several hours of heavy rainfall in the province, the meteorology centre warned of flooding and winds of up to 170km/h.
Civil defence authorities said they had evacuated 10,000 people to shelters, mainly inside Salalah which has a population of more than 200,000.
Authorities have urged residents to stay indoors.
40 people missing in Socotra:
Officials say preliminary figures show 40 people – among them Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals – are missing after Cyclone Mekunu battered the island of Socotra off the coast of Yemen.
The officials said Friday that over 230 families had been relocated to shelter in sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island’s mountains.
They say floods swept Socotra streets, washed away thousands of animals and cut electricity and communication lines. Some humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived just hours after the cyclone receded.
