Heavy rain and flash floods continue to batter Oman after emergency workers rescued 31 families from their homes in the eastern coastal city of Sur.
Omanis in Sur, which has suffered the worst of the flooding, said the Civil Defence and Ambulance Department started the evacuation on Friday evening. The operation ran until Saturday morning.
“Rainwater came all the way into our front room and kitchen. All our furniture on the ground floor is ruined. The whole street is flooded and we are afraid that the water is going to rise further,” Sultan Al Mukheini, 34, a Sur resident, told The National.
“We called the police, and the rescue teams came a few hours later to get us out.”
Mr Al Mukheini said rescue teams used boats to get people to shelter in hotels away from the flooding.
Witnesses said an old house in Manah, in Oman's Al Dakhaliya region, collapsed on Saturday after being weakened by rainwater.
“Obviously the flooding made its foundation weak and the weight of the rainwater on its roof put pressure on the floors and the whole house crumbled," Said Al Battashi, 43, a civil engineer, told The National. "With the grace of God, the family who lived in it got out in time before it happened.”
Witnesses in other parts of Oman said civil defence teams rescued people from their cars, which became stuck in flooded wadis.
“We have people who were caught driving in the wadis and who were unable to get out because of the strong currents of water," said Muneer Al Asfoor, 26, from the Batnah town of Saham on Oman's northern coast. "The rescue teams used helicopters to get them out alive."
Heavy rains and thunderstorms hit several areas of Oman from Thursday, causing floods, ruining crops and disrupting the electricity supply, Oman Television reported.
The meteorological office is warning that the unpredictable weather will continue for several more days.
Covid-19 measures extended
The torrential rain came at a time when Omanis were enjoying the week-long Eid holiday, which started on Friday.
On Friday evening, the authorities extended the current stay-home period by a day to July 23.
Oman on Thursday ordered a total shutdown during the first three days of Eid, from July 20 to July 22. This was to keep down the number of infections by stopping gatherings.
The country has been operating under an 8pm to 4am stay-home order since June 2. However, from Friday to Monday this was extended by three hours, to start from 5pm.
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SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Specs
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
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Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html" charset="UTF-8" /></head><body><!--PSTYLE=* Labels%3aFH Label 18 Sport--><p>Beach soccer</p><!--PSTYLE=BY Byline--><p>Amith Passela</p><p /></body></html>
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
