Oman Wires It's all about Oman
In its bulletin, the Public Authority for Civil Aviation’s (PACA) National Multi Hazard and Early Warning Centre stated that Luban continued to move towards the west-northwest. “There will be an indirect effect of the program on Dhofar and Al Wusta beginning from October 10 with probabilities of isolated rain and increasing sea waves with maximum height among 4m and 6m.
“The two governorates might be affected with heavy rain and strong winds starting from Friday (October 12) afternoon, with rough sea state and maximum wave height between 6m and 8m,” it stated.
In its evening bulletin on Tuesday, the Indian Meteorological Department stated that Luban intensified into a serious cyclonic storm and lay centred at 1430 hrs IST (1pm Oman time) more than the west central Arabian Sea, close to Latitude 13.2°N and Longitude 60.0°E, about 760km east-southeast of Salalah and 660km east of Socotra Island. “It is very likely to further intensify and move west-northwestwards towards Yemen and south Oman coasts during the next four days.”
However, European and American climate forecast models predicted various routes for Luban on Tuesday. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts stated that as the storm approaches south Oman, it will be steered by higher stress from the north and move southwest off Yemen to the Gulf of Aden and dissipate.
The American Global Forecast System predicted that the tropical storm will move west-northwest in the Arabian Sea, then move west with landfall on the Oman-Yemen border as a Category three (178-208 km/hr) storm. “It will then move southwest through Yemen as a subtropical cyclone and dissipate.”
Emergency meeting
Oman’s National Emergency Management Centre held a meting on Tuesday to go over readiness to deal with the effect of tropical storm. The centre mentioned that it was continuing to boost the sources and capabilities essential to decrease the impacts of the tropical scenario. Also, the National Committee for Civil Defence in Dhofar and Al Wusta held two separate meetings to tackle the scenario.
PACA advisory
PACA has advised folks to adhere to its most recent climate bulletins and reports and take complete precautions prior to getting into wadis and steer clear of low lying coastal places.
Emergency numbers identified by the National Emergency Management Centre – 9999, 23234599 and 23234112.
Information Source: Muscat Daily
