2 dead as Cyclone Mekunu hits Oman

By Mohamed Fahd

MUSCAT

Cyclone Mekunu hit Oman’s coastal province of Dhofar on Saturday, killing a second person in the sultanate.

“A second citizen has died after his vehicle drifted away” in Dhofar, Omani police said on Twitter.

The police called on residents “to stay indoors” as the cyclone hit southern Oman with high winds and rains.

On Friday, a 12-year-old girl died after wind swept her against a wall, police said.

Thousands of residents near coastal areas in Dhofar and al-Wusta had been moved to shelters as winds and torrential rain hammered the region, officials said.

According to civil defense authorities, about 10,000 people had been evacuated from schools and government buildings.

On Thursday, the cyclone hit the Yemeni island of Socotra, killing at least seven people with several others reported missing. The Yemeni government has declared the island a disaster zone.