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Thousands flee Oman storm threat Muscat residents evacuated as storm clouds gathered An unusually powerful cyclone has begun battering the coast of Oman with winds of 160mph (260 km/h) and large waves. The centre of Tropical Cyclone Gonu is heading north-west through the Indian Ocean towards Oman's east coast. Thousands of residents of coastal regions and the low-lying offshore island of Masirah have been evacuated. People elsewhere have been told to stay indoors, while schools and public building have been emptied to make room for the evacuees. The most powerful part of the storm was expected to hit Oman...

MUSCAT, Oman - Cyclone Gonu battered Oman's coast Wednesday with fierce winds and torrential rains, forcing thousands from their homes and shutting down oil installations before heading toward the world's most important crude oil tanker route. The storm — a rarity in the Middle East — was expected to make landfall on the southeastern Iranian coast late Thursday, according to the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center. But it was likely to spare Iran's offshore oil installations that lie more than 120 miles to the west. In Muscat, the cyclone unleashed sheets of rainfall and howling winds rarely seen in...

Jun 6, 2007 1:06:00 AM MST Iran evacuates hundreds from southeastern port as cyclone Gonu approaches (Iran-Cyclone) TEHRAN, Iran (AP)_ Authorities evacuated hundreds of residents of the Iranian port of Chabahr on the Coast of Oman Sea on Wednesday out of fear of an approaching cyclone, a local official said. Southern Iran and the oil-rich Persian Gulf were next in its path of cyclone Gonu, which was lashing Oman‘s eastern coast since late Tuesday, with thousands of people evacuated from Oman‘s low-lying areas in what was the strongest recorded storm to hit the Arabian peninsula. “University and school students were...

A cyclone packing huge winds of up to 260 kilometres an hour advanced towards the Gulf state of Oman on Tuesday, posing a potential threat to the key route for oil exports from the energy-rich region. Oman has evacuated about 7,000 people from coastal areas in the sultanate, where the weather service said Cyclone Gonu was expected to make landfall by Wednesday afternoon. The first signs of the cyclone, with winds of up to 260 kilometres (160 miles) an hour and waves up to 12 metres (40 feet), have already been felt along Oman's coastal regions with torrential rains and...

MUSCAT, Oman — More people have fled their homes in Oman's eastern coastal towns as a powerful cyclone approaches the oil-rich Gulf area, police officials said Tuesday. Cyclone Gonu, with winds of 160 miles per hour and gusts of 195 miles per hour, is heading northwest through the Indian Ocean toward Oman's east coast. Authorities on Monday evacuated nearly 7,000 people from Masirah, a lowland island off the east coast of Oman, said General Malik bin Suleiman al-Muamri, head of the country's civil defense. He said that a state of emergency was declared in the affected area, including mobilizing army...

--I can say with confidence that this forecaster has never seen the likes of this: a Category 4 (130 knots, or 240 kph) hurricane over the northern Arabian Sea. The wind speeds are estimated (as of 0600 Hours GMT) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). A look at full-disk infrared imagery (from the India Met. Dept.--IMD) helps to afford better perspective on TC Gonu and South Asia:

An extremely unusual occurrence looks to be taking place in parts of the Middle East, with a well-organized cyclone (hurricane) heading towards the Gulf of Oman. We looked back through the past 30years of reliable data, and could not find one single instance of a hurricane hitting that region. A couple of Tropical Storms steered well southwest and northeast of that region, but never directly impacted the Gulf of Oman. So this appears to be a historic event. The storm is Cyclone Gonu… as they are referred to as cyclones in the Indian Ocean. It is currently very strong, with...

Excerpt - MUSCAT, Oman A powerful cyclone approaching the oil-rich Persian Gulf area forced the evacuation Monday of nearly 7,000 people from an Omani island, a government official said. Cyclone Gonu, with winds of 160 miles per hour and gusts of 195 miles per hour, was headed northwest through the Indian Ocean toward Oman's east coast, said Weather Underground meteorologist Tim Roche. ~ snip ~