Oman evacuated tens of thousands yesterday and closed the major port of Sohar north-west of the capital Muscat, as a weakening Cyclone Gonu roared towards the Strait of Hormuz - the world's major transport artery for Persian Gulf oil.
Storm's fury: High waves slam Oman's coast as a cyclone packing winds of up to 260km approaches the capital Muscat on Tuesday
As heavy rains lashed coastal areas, the authorities closed all operations at the port of Sohar and evacuated the 11,000 workers, port spokesman Dirk Jan De Vink said.
Sohar's oil refinery and petrochemical plant remained running at very low levels, with the authorities considering a total shutdown, Mr De Vink said.
Mr De Vink said he and the other beach-front residents of the city of 60,000 were leaving their homes, all threatened by rising tides and large waves pushed by the approaching storm.
'These people know the force of the sea and they're doing the right thing,' he said. 'Most of them are leaving or have already left.'
Electricity went out in Muscat by noon yesterday as winds of 100 kmh hit the capital. Oman television broadcast footage of streets and buildings flooded with water. Health Ministry official Ali bin Gaafar bin Mohammed said rescue workers had difficulties reaching affected areas.
'Even helicopters cannot fly, so it is very difficult,' he said. In the nearby Al-Amriyat town, a flood-related mudslide closed a main road.
Flights in and out of Oman's Seeb International Airport were cancelled yesterday, according to an official, Hamad bin Ali al Abri. Flights that were en route to Muscat were diverted to other airports in the region, he said. Further north-east, in the UAE port of Fujairah, the world's third-largest shipping fuel centre, all refuelling and ship-to-ship supply operations had been halted. Ships were being allowed to berth but other marine activities were suspended, officials said.
A few ships were still sailing through the nearby Strait of Hormuz despite 4-6-ft swells and strong winds, according to Suresh Nair of the Gulf Agency Co shipping firm.
'The entire area is unsafe. Vessels that were bound to call here say they are diverting because of the storm,' Mr Nair said. 'Some are still going through the strait.'
Oil prices rose yesterday amid fears of the storm's impact on the oil-rich region.
'The latest on the storm indicates it will hit land in south-eastern Iran - which could possibly disrupt shipping through the Arabian Gulf, and that's caused some concern in the trading community,' said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
Omani Interior Minister Saud bin Ibrahim Albousaidi instructed residents to leave their houses near the sea and seek shelter on hilltops. But Omani officials said most of the country's oilfields, to the north-west of the capital, were still operating.
Police officials reported a dead body washed ashore in the eastern coastal city of Sur.
In Iran, the authorities evacuated hundreds of people living in the port city of Chabahr on the coast of the Sea of Oman, believed to be next in the cyclone's path.
Maximum sustained winds of about 40 kmh were reported with gusts to nearly 170 kmh, regional weather services said.
As of 0900 GMT, the storm was reported about 60 nautical miles south-east of the Omani capital Muscat, moving in a north-westerly direction, the services said. A tracking map posted on the website of the US military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicted the centre of the storm would skirt Muscat after 1200 GMT yesterday.
Blogger Vijayakumar Narayanan told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that many city streets were flooded and that visibility was near-zero in Muscat at mid-morning yesterday.
Disruptions in the Straits of Hormuz were likely to cause a spike in prices, oil analysts said. Oil prices rose on Monday but retreated on Tuesday, although the storm weighed heavily on the market.
Gonu, which means a bag made of palm leaves in the language of the Maldives, was expected to hit land in south-eastern Iran late yesterday or early today, according to AccuWeather.Com meteorologist Donn Washburn.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicted rough seas in the Strait of Hormuz, the transport route for two-fifths of the world's oil and the southern entrance to the Gulf.
Manouchehr Takin, an analyst at the Center for Global Energy Studies in London, said the real fear is that the loading of tankers might be delayed by the storm.
'About 17-21 million barrels a day of oil are coming out of the Persian Gulf. Even if only some of the tankers are delayed, that could reduce the supply of oil and increase prices,' Mr Takin said.
Even with the weaker wind speeds, Gonu is expected to be the strongest cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula since record keeping started in 1945. A cyclone is the term used for hurricanes in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.
Storm's fury: High waves slam Oman's coast as a cyclone packing winds of up to 260km approaches the capital Muscat on Tuesday
As heavy rains lashed coastal areas, the authorities closed all operations at the port of Sohar and evacuated the 11,000 workers, port spokesman Dirk Jan De Vink said.
Sohar's oil refinery and petrochemical plant remained running at very low levels, with the authorities considering a total shutdown, Mr De Vink said.
Mr De Vink said he and the other beach-front residents of the city of 60,000 were leaving their homes, all threatened by rising tides and large waves pushed by the approaching storm.
'These people know the force of the sea and they're doing the right thing,' he said. 'Most of them are leaving or have already left.'
Electricity went out in Muscat by noon yesterday as winds of 100 kmh hit the capital. Oman television broadcast footage of streets and buildings flooded with water. Health Ministry official Ali bin Gaafar bin Mohammed said rescue workers had difficulties reaching affected areas.
'Even helicopters cannot fly, so it is very difficult,' he said. In the nearby Al-Amriyat town, a flood-related mudslide closed a main road.
Flights in and out of Oman's Seeb International Airport were cancelled yesterday, according to an official, Hamad bin Ali al Abri. Flights that were en route to Muscat were diverted to other airports in the region, he said. Further north-east, in the UAE port of Fujairah, the world's third-largest shipping fuel centre, all refuelling and ship-to-ship supply operations had been halted. Ships were being allowed to berth but other marine activities were suspended, officials said.
A few ships were still sailing through the nearby Strait of Hormuz despite 4-6-ft swells and strong winds, according to Suresh Nair of the Gulf Agency Co shipping firm.
'The entire area is unsafe. Vessels that were bound to call here say they are diverting because of the storm,' Mr Nair said. 'Some are still going through the strait.'
Oil prices rose yesterday amid fears of the storm's impact on the oil-rich region.
'The latest on the storm indicates it will hit land in south-eastern Iran - which could possibly disrupt shipping through the Arabian Gulf, and that's caused some concern in the trading community,' said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
Omani Interior Minister Saud bin Ibrahim Albousaidi instructed residents to leave their houses near the sea and seek shelter on hilltops. But Omani officials said most of the country's oilfields, to the north-west of the capital, were still operating.
Police officials reported a dead body washed ashore in the eastern coastal city of Sur.
In Iran, the authorities evacuated hundreds of people living in the port city of Chabahr on the coast of the Sea of Oman, believed to be next in the cyclone's path.
Maximum sustained winds of about 40 kmh were reported with gusts to nearly 170 kmh, regional weather services said.
As of 0900 GMT, the storm was reported about 60 nautical miles south-east of the Omani capital Muscat, moving in a north-westerly direction, the services said. A tracking map posted on the website of the US military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicted the centre of the storm would skirt Muscat after 1200 GMT yesterday.
Blogger Vijayakumar Narayanan told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that many city streets were flooded and that visibility was near-zero in Muscat at mid-morning yesterday.
Disruptions in the Straits of Hormuz were likely to cause a spike in prices, oil analysts said. Oil prices rose on Monday but retreated on Tuesday, although the storm weighed heavily on the market.
Gonu, which means a bag made of palm leaves in the language of the Maldives, was expected to hit land in south-eastern Iran late yesterday or early today, according to AccuWeather.Com meteorologist Donn Washburn.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicted rough seas in the Strait of Hormuz, the transport route for two-fifths of the world's oil and the southern entrance to the Gulf.
Manouchehr Takin, an analyst at the Center for Global Energy Studies in London, said the real fear is that the loading of tankers might be delayed by the storm.
'About 17-21 million barrels a day of oil are coming out of the Persian Gulf. Even if only some of the tankers are delayed, that could reduce the supply of oil and increase prices,' Mr Takin said.
Even with the weaker wind speeds, Gonu is expected to be the strongest cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula since record keeping started in 1945. A cyclone is the term used for hurricanes in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.