As catastrophe turns to recovery, thousands of Omanis and expatriates have joined forces for a huge clean-up operation days after Cyclone Shaheen ripped through the country.
About 20,000 volunteers spent the weekend removing tons of mud, debris, rubble, dead animals, fallen trees and damaged cars from the wadis, Oman TV reported.
Omanis and expats communicated via social media to help those who lost their homes, businesses, personal belongings and livestock. They also distributed food and comforted those who had lost loved ones during the storm, the report said.
The volunteers included Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Filipinos, British, French, Americans, Kenyans, Tanzanians, Moroccans, Egyptians and many others.
"It is like a UN task force coming together,” Khalil Al Aisry, one of the Omani volunteers, told The National.
Terry Thomson, a Briton based in Muscat, said: “Shovel by shovel, we are all in this together as we work for a common humanitarian goal. There are even students here taking part, different nationalities, taking advantage of the weekend. It is really gratifying to see so many people, from all walks of life, being here helping the victims."
Cyclone Shaheen has killed 14 people across the country. Widespread damage from the storm forced more than 5,000 people into temporary accommodation.
Most of the damage is in Oman’s Al Batinah region, in the towns of Al Musannah, Suwaiq, Saham, Khaburah and Sohar, which were hit by winds of 110 kph and 12-metre-high waves.
On Thursday, the government announced it was moving people whose homes had been destroyed by the storm to fully furnished accommodation until their properties could be restored, Oman News Agency reported.
Some universities are rewarding their students with extra grades if they help with the clean-up.
“My university said we will get five per cent extra grades in community engagement if we come here and help. But of course, I am not here for the grades. I am here to genuinely help people who need my help,” Bayaan Al Subhi, a student at the University of Sohar, told The National.
Workers used lorries, shovels and dredging machines to clear the debris in the towns of Khaburah and Suwaiq, both hit hard by the storm, which made landfall on Monday.
Some of them say the work is perilous as they enter properties weakened by the flooding.
The government said it would pay 1,000 rials ($2,600) to each property owner to help them repair their homes. The general public and private institutions have so far donated nearly $48 million to help storm victims.
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- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
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Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
