Oman on alert as powerful cyclone looms

Oman is gearing up to face the fury of a powerful cyclone that is expected to hit its southern and eastern parts within hours.

The latest statement by the sultanate's Directorate General Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN) said that satellite images showed that the tropical cyclone Phet is just 180 km away from the eastern island of Masirah and moving at about 8 km per hour towards the coasts of al-Sharqiyah region during the next 24 hours, Oman News Agency reported.

Phet is currently centered at the west of the Arabian Sea at an altitude of 18.54 degrees north and a longitude of 59.4 degrees east, with wind speed around the cyclone center amounting to 180 km per hour, the report said.

Chairman of National Committee for Civil Defense Malik bin Suleiman al-Mamari said that the civil defense units are placed on high alert, noting that it may be almost similar to a cyclone that hit the sultanate's coasts in June 2007, leaving dozens of people dead.

The cyclone, now a Category 3 storm, is expected to amount to a Category 5 one - the most powerful category with winds of over 251 km per hour.

Times of Oman reported Thursday that Oman Air, the sultanate's national carrier, and the Royal Air Force of Oman had evacuated people from Masirah to safer places.

Oman Air temporarily cancelled its flights to the UAE airports of Ras al-Khaimah and Abu Dhabi to deploy its aircraft for the evacuation process, the report said.

Source: Xinhua