Salalah, Oman, has always been known for its dramatic scenery - with its lush greenery and jagged mountains - but post-cyclone, it may be more spectacular then ever.
Cyclone Mekunu dumped three years' worth of rain along the Oman coast a week ago, as it left a trail of battered cities and seaside towns in its wake. Eleven people were killed and dozens more were missing.
In the days since, wary residents have taken stock of the damage and begun to pick up the pieces. This has meant building alternative roads through the mountains and clearing floodwaters after landslides and flash floods wiped out bridges.
But in the face of tragedy, many resilient Omani residents are looking at the bright side. For starters, the Khareef season seems to have already arrived. During the monsoon season, tourists flock to the region for the cooler climes, drizzly weather and the vibrant greens of the countryside.
Salalah received at least 278 millimetres of rainfall as the cyclone passed over. The city typically receives 70 to 90mm of rain annually.
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Read more:
Cyclone Mekunu kills eleven and leaves dozens missing
Oman declares 3-day holiday for cyclone recovery effort
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"My eyes burned because of the vibrancy of the green," said Dubai-based photographer Antony Hansen. Mr Hansen had been surveying the damage from the storm, taking dramatic pictures of felled trees, washed out roads and landslides. He said much of the hills were already blanketed in emerald hues that usually would not be visible until July.
However, there was plenty of devastation to be seen.
"The wharf is built up and tucked in to be protected from the ocean - but there was this huge wave of water, someone called it a 'tsunami from the land', which came down from the mountains and trashed it," he said.
He had been told the port had lost at least six large dhows and several cranes had fallen over.
However, the speed with which people had mobilised to clear the debris, and carve alternative routes through mountain passes and river beds was "amazing", he said.
"What really gets me is the resilience of the people."
Ammar Jamal, a civil engineer, who lives near Salalah, said he was in his home for three days, cut off from much of the outside world due to closed roads and flooding. However, authorities had ensured residents were well prepared.
"We did not lose electricity on our street either, the internet was still working and we were just sitting there talking to each other and watching it happen.
"Many roads and cliffs are damaged - it's really something that shows how strong this cyclone was. But right after, everything turned green. It's earlier than usual."
Al Baleed Resort Salalah Anantara general manager James Hewitson said the damage to the hotel - a few leaks, a swimming pool full of sand, landscaping and superficial damage to some buildings - was fixed within days. In the immediate aftermath, all roads to the resort were cut off. The north access road was flooded, the east road had landslides and the west one had been completely washed away.
However, within six days a temporary bridge had been built over the wadi to the west, he said.
"The beach is a bit shorter, and there are a few damaged trees but the waterfalls began the day after and these were really impressive."
The Travertine Curtain at Wadi Darbat, a cliff face that doubles as the site of a spectacular waterfall in monsoon season, was already raging, he said.
"The mountains are already full. It's going to be a great time to come to Salalah," he said.
'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
How Beautiful this world is!
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
