Oman floods claim lives, rescue teams still searching for missing

Rescue teams continued to search for missing people in Oman over the weekend after days of heavy rain and flooding killed a number of people, including children.

Ambulance teams said a body was found in Wadi Ahin outside the city of Sohar in the north on Saturday, while seven people were rescued and four confirmed dead in two other governorates on Thursday, reported The National.

South of the capital Muscat, crews responded to a report about the drowning of three children, one of whom died, the Oman News Agency said.

The final death toll remains unclear.

Officials warned "everyone to take precautions and not to take risks in crossing valleys, to watch children and not to approach the streams of valleys and lakes".

Flights were suspended and schools were shut in October as a cyclone battered Oman, also claiming lives.

The country witnessed severe floods in January as well.

Tropical storms have caused Oman losses in the billions in recent years, and are posing a growing threat to the Sultanate's natural resources and infrastructure.

A member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Oman is somewhat poorer than its oil and gas rich neighbours. It has been experiencing economic difficulties predating the coronavirus pandemic and is considered the most vulnerable economy in the GCC.