Gonu news. (cyclone in Arabian gulf)

[uppityperson]

Looks like winds mostly done in Oman, flooding happening. UAE is evacuating people, edging onto Iran.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2007/June/theuae_June157.xml§ion=theuae

Thousands evacuated in Fujairah and Kalba
By our staff reporters

7 June 2007

THOUSANDS of people were evacuated from coastal areas and nearby farms and villages in Fujairah and Kalba in Sharjah yesterday, as strong high-speed winds, high tidal waves and severe sand storms battered the UAE’s East Coast in the wake of Cyclone Gonu advancing up the Arabian Gulf.

While Fujairah remained the worst hit yesterday and its port was closed indefinitely as a precautionary measure, the situation in neighbouring Kalba worsened last night as prevailing rough weather conditions in the area intensified — prompting a quick evacuation of local inhabitants by the Army, Police, Civil Defence, Red Crescent and other personnel mobilised to counter the contingency.

No casualties were reported till late last night although there were reports of heavy damage in the affected areas. The full extent of the damage has yet to be estimated....(more)

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2007/June/middleeast_June105.xml§ion=middleeast

Oman in grip of Gonu fury
From Ravindra Nath

6 June 2007


MUSCAT — Heavy rains and fierce winds hammered Muscat as cyclone Gonu struck the capital city of Oman with a vengeance on Wednesday afternoon. Official sources said no human deaths or injuries had been reported. They warned people to stay indoors.

Several parts of the capital governorate, including heavily populated Muttrah, Qurum and Al Khuwair, as well as Madinat Qaboos, were without power supply. Many residential and commercial areas were inaccessible because of heavy flooding and parked vehicles were seen being swept away.

Unconfirmed reports, meanwhile, said some buildings collapsed in different parts of the governorate, such as Wadi Adai, Ghubrah and Muttrah. There were also rumours of people being stranded in buildings engulfed by swirling floodwaters. Waves as high as 10 to 12 metres lashed the Muttrah Corniche, the Qurum, Quriyat and Azaiba beaches and other coastal stretches.

The weather bureau said the wind speed had fallen below 90km from the peak level of around 260km earlier. “Remain where you are, and avoid going out. All roads are closed or flooded,” a police spokesman said. “And keep away from the coastal areas,” he added. “Our advice to the public would be to remain at home for the next 12 to 15 hours,” he said....(more)

http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_22154.shtml

Cyclone Gonu makes landfall in Iran
Jun 6, 2007

Cyclone Gonu, the worst tropical storm to hit the Persian Gulf in decades, made landfall in Iran yesterday afternoon, packing winds of 200km an hour and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, officials said.

The storm hit the east coast of Oman earlier in the day, with winds snapping trees and blowing over street signs, while heavy rains flooded some roads. The cyclone has so far not affected shipping in the Strait of Hormuz through which at least a quarter of world oil supplies passes, officials said.

"Maritime activities in the Strait of Hormuz are as usual. We have no indication of any disruption," an Omani transport ministry official said. Iran was starting to feel the full brunt of the weather in the southern coastal provinces of Hormorzgan and Sistan Baluchistan, which lie only 100km across the Persian Gulf from northern Oman. Winds were lashing the port of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Homorzgan, state television said...
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Iranian officials said, however, that the cyclone was unlikely to threaten the country's oil platforms and installations in the Persian Gulf because they are located far from its path."All Iranian offshore oil platforms in the Persian Gulf are working based on their schedule without any interruption," Bahram Narimanian, spokesman of Iran's Offshore Oil Company, said. "However, we have prepared for any possible difficulty."
(more)

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14090:second-day-of-chaos-as-cyclone-sweeps-oman&Itemid=1

Cyclone Gonu pounded Oman on Wednesday, halting oil and gas exports for a second day and forcing thousands to flee the coast, but weakened as it moved through the Gulf of Oman, a major route for oil shipments.

The storm, which peaked to a maximum-force Category Five hurricane on Tuesday, has been downgraded to a Category One hurricane, with a maximum sustained wind speed of about 75 mph, the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The cyclone "continues to weaken under the influence of land interactions and low ocean heat content," it said...

(clip)

NO CASUALTIES
Strong winds and heavy rain turned the deserted streets of Muscat into rivers as people heeded warnings to stay at home or shelter in buildings that could withstand strong winds. "So far we have not confirmed any casualties. But the power is out and phones are disconnected in many areas so we just don't know for sure," Abdallah al-Harthi, spokesman for the Oman relief committee told Reuters. Gonu has caused some material damage on the coast of both Oman and the UAE but not on a catastrophic scale. Waves pounded the eastern coast of the UAE and some residents were evacuated..(more)

Edited to add picture

[Double T]

1. Can't wait to see what the wall street SOBs do to the energy prices........

over this price manipulation 'event'.

[BeHereNow]

2. Global Warming? Liberal media myth...

Right?
Right.

Like this sort of weather is common in this part of the world.
Uh-huh.

BHN