Thousands flee as powerful cyclone bears down on Persian Gulf, unnerves oil markets

[KoKo]

MUSCAT, Oman -- Thousands of people fled low-lying areas as the strongest cyclone to threaten the Arabian Peninsula in 60 years blasted Oman's eastern coast early Wednesday with strong winds and waves, Civil Defense officials said. Southern Iran and the oil-rich Persian Gulf were next in its path.

Cyclone-force winds of Gonu, which had been churning northwest through the Indian Ocean, reached the Omani coastal towns of Sur and Ra's al-Hadd. Civil Defense said the storm was dropping heavy rains on the capital, Muscat, and other nearby towns, but it was not known if the storm was causing any damage.

Cyclone Gonu had weakened somewhat during the day but was still packing winds of up to 106 mph and churning up ocean waves of several feet, the officials said.

Gonu was expected to skirt the region's biggest oil installations but could disrupt shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, causing a spike in prices, oil analysts said.

Oil prices rose on Monday but retreated Tuesday, although the storm weighed heavily on the market.


more about US Ships and Oil supply at.........

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/world/BO54216/

EDITED TO COMPLY WITH DU COPYRIGHT RULES

[Breeze54]

1. Oh joy.....

argh!

[Feron]

2. I wish the people there all the best...

Hopefully this storm will weaken big time before it hits land. :(

[uppityperson]

3. please shorten OP to fit copyright stuff and here is another new story too

copyright rules say 3-4 paragraphs so DU doesn't get into trouble. This is pretty wild.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2007/June/middleeast_June79.xml§ion=middleeast&col=

MUSCAT — Oman was on high alert on Tuesday as it braced itself to face the onslaught of an advancing cyclone — the worst tropical storm to hit its shores in 120 years. With the cyclone ‘Gonu’ expected to hit the Sharqiya region with full force some time past midnight, several hours earlier than earlier expected, various security, paramedic and other agencies were mobilised and put on full alert to cope with the contingency.

(clip)

A spokesman said Gonu, creating phenomenal tidal waves of between four and 12 metres in its wake and packing wind speeds ranging from 185 to 204 kilometres per hour, was likely to pound Muscat with full ferocity by 4pm on Wednesday. As a prelude to Gonu’s arrival, heavy rains and strong winds lashed most of the wilayats located on the country’s eastern coast intermittently throughout on Tuesday.

The Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) and the Royal Oman Police (ROP) evacuated citizens and residents from areas likely to be affected by the cyclone to safer places. “We are also providing them food, shelter and medical services in coordination with various local authorities,” an ROP spokesman said. Also on Tuesday, 16 Bangladeshis were rescued from the sea and taken to shelters in Al Ashkara. At Ras al Hadd, seawater flooded houses affecting a number of citizens. There were also reports of power failures in several areas in the wilayat of Sur. At Shati al Qurum and Al Azaiba along the Muscat coast and in the nearby wilayat of Quriyat waves several metres high lashed the beaches, while seawater covered up to 300 metres of land at Al Hajr and Al Bustan, also in the capital.

The police have raised the alert level to ‘maximum’ and warned members of the public to take the utmost precautions. The people were told to keep flashlights and candles ready for use in case of power failure and not to park their vehicles near trees. By early on Tuesday afternoon, most of the estimated 7,000 inhabitants of Masirah had left for safety on mainland in the Sharqiya region...(more@link)

[KoKo]

4. Here's link to Blogger Post from there...for those who are interested...

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2623