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Oman flash floods kill nearly 20, including children

Tuesday, 16 April 2024 11:21 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 16 April 2024 11:21 AM ]

Rescue teams were called on to carry out multiple high water rescues as flash floods triggered by heavy rain lead to the loss of at least 18 people in Oman.

More than a dozen people have been killed, many of them schoolchildren, in flash floods triggered by heavy rain across Oman since Sunday, authorities have reported.

The floods have been reported in the north and east regions of Oman following violent thunderstorms, heavy rain, and strong winds that began on Sunday.

An official news agency initially reported on Sunday that nine schoolchildren and three adults tragically lost their lives after “their vehicles got swept away in gushing wadi waters."

Five individuals were also reported missing in the floods that struck the northeast of the country.

Later, State media reported on Tuesday that at least 18 people had lost their lives so far.

Meanwhile, the sultanate's Council of Ministers released a statement expressing deep sorrow and extending sincere condolences and sympathies to the families and relatives of the school students who tragically lost their lives in the Governorate of A'Sharqiyah.

Rescue operations are underway in Oman as authorities announced the closure of schools in six governorates, including Muscat, due to unstable weather conditions, according to a statement from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Monday.

Heavy rains were also expected over Dubai in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other neighboring countries.

Oman experienced heavy rainfall and ensuing floods in February, which claimed the lives of three young children.

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