People ride bicycle at the flooded streets after Tropical Storm Shaheen hits the Welayat Al khaboora of capital Muscat in Oman, 04 October 2021. Shaheen a day earlier packed wind speeds of up to 116 kilometers per hour and is expected to strengthen into a category 1 tropical cyclone, authorities said. At least ten people have died due to flooding and another person was missing. EPA / HAMID ALQASIMI
People ride bicycle at the flooded streets after Tropical Storm Shaheen hits the Welayat Al khaboora of capital Muscat in Oman, 04 October 2021. Shaheen a day earlier packed wind speeds of up to 116 kilometers per hour and is expected to strengthen into a category 1 tropical cyclone, authorities said. At least ten people have died due to flooding and another person was missing. EPA / HAMID ALQASIMI
People ride bicycle at the flooded streets after Tropical Storm Shaheen hits the Welayat Al khaboora of capital Muscat in Oman, 04 October 2021. Shaheen a day earlier packed wind speeds of up to 116 k
Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
October 06, 2021
Tropical storms are such a rare occurrence in the Gulf of Oman that until this week, the last one to make landfall there was recorded more than 130 years ago. While the kind of low-pressure weather systems that tend to breed cyclones are a common occurrence in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, rarely do they venture very far north. But Cyclone Shaheen, which developed out of a weather system in the Bay of Bengal, arrived on the northern coast of Oman on Sunday, creating havoc of a kind unseen in years. Solidarity with Oman during this time is felt throughout the UAE.
Recovery is now underway, mostly in the worst-affected Batinah region, after the storm brought on heavy rain and winds of up to 120 kilometres an hour. It killed at least 11 people and forced more than 5,000 into temporary accommodation. The clean-up operation may cost more than $100m. Iranian rescuers have also retrieved the body of one of five fishermen who went missing in the waters surrounding the country’s border with Pakistan.
The approach of cyclone Shaheen put the UAE on high alert this week. Warning messages were broadcast in 19 languages, part of a strategy that involved more than 100 local and national entities. In Al Ain, residents were warned that they may have to work from home and schools briefly switched to distance learning, as part of precautionary measures. In the Northern Emirates, public gatherings on beaches were restricted. A broad social media campaign tried to reach as many residents as possible, reminding them of the danger that even slight rain poses; in downpours, police warn that accidents on the UAE's roads typically happen every two minutes.
An Oman Air Force helicopter flies over Khaburah in Al Batinah district to assess damage caused by Cyclone Shaheen in October 2021. The government later said $500 million was required to repair infrastructure and homes. Photo: AP
Cyclone Shaheen caused widespread flooding and landslides in Oman. Climate change is predicted to make such weather events more frequent. Photo: AFP
In total 14 people in Oman died as a result of the cyclone. Photo: AFP
A car is stranded in flooded street in the Omani capital, Muscat. Photo: AFP
People wade through a flooded street in Muscat. Photo: AFP
A flooded street in Al Khaburah. Photo: AP
Flooded streets in Al Khaburah, one day after Cyclone Shaheen brought wind speeds of up to 116 kilometres an hour. Photo: EPA
Gloomy skies in Muscat. Photo: EPA
People cycle along a waterlogged road in Al Khaburah. Photo: EPA
A torrent of floodwater runs through Al Khaburah. Photo: EPA
Workers in Al Musanna repair damage caused by Cyclone Shaheen. Photo: Reuters
Vehicles make their way along a flooded street in the aftermath of Cyclone Shaheen in Muscat. Photo: AFP
In the end, the Emirates avoided all but slightly increased winds and some wet weather. On Monday, the country's National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority (Ncema) announced that the storm had "faded", although it said it would continue to monitor the situation.
In 2007, category-five Cyclone Gonu – significantly stronger than Shaheen – hit the UAE after travelling overland across Oman from the Arabian Sea. In March 2016, schools were closed due to another major storm, which saw winds of up to 120kph. Other parts of the Arabian Peninsula experience extreme weather events, too. In 2018, cyclone Sagar, which formed in the Gulf of Aden, killed at least 31 people. It gave nearby Somalia a year's rain in a matter of days, displacing tens of thousands of people.
This underscores the need for bodies like Ncema, as well as Oman’s National Committee for Emergency Management (NCEM), to prepare for such situations, even when they are unlikely to happen. Ncema, moreover, has played a critical role in managing the Covid-19 crisis and showed its preparedness again during Shaheen.
The pandemic is still a bigger immediate concern than storms, which only rarely bring major disruption to the UAE. But after this week's difficulties, a silver lining is greater recognition of the country's ever-developing ability to not just respond to disasters, but prepare for them, too.
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War:an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
