Cyclone Gonu

Man, this cyclone really nailed Oman:

"Shelters came up everywhere as the Indian community also joined in relief work but 'dry taps' remained the biggest worry for residents of Muscat and the eastern town of Sur, links with which were restored by late night on Friday.

"As the authorities worked round the clock to restore water supply, minor scuffles and frayed tempers were seen at many places among the city dwellers, who are still reeling under the impact of the killer cyclone Gonu.

"A top water department official appealed for patience from residents. 'It could take a maximum of 10 days before everything (water supply) is restored to completely normal,' Saeed Bin Mohammad Al Nabhani, Director General of Water at the Ministry of Electricity and Water announced...

"Telephone lines to Sur were established and graded temporary road links were created to restart traffic in and out of this eastern city. 'There has been contact and some relief supplies are coming in but water shortage remains the biggest worry here,' Dr Kamal Bhatt, Senior Specialist Surgeon at the Sur Hospital told Gulf News over the phone. He also said that so far there were no cyclone-related injuries or deaths reported at the hospital...

"Meanwhile, the government authorities have set up relief camps at schools and one at the Seeb International Exhibition Centre where food is also provided to people taking shelter, including a large number of expatriates also.

"The Indian Embassy has also sent two teams to Qurriat and Sur to assess the situation and establish any coordination that may be necessary for distribution of relief aid. Two large Indian companies - Galfar and Teejan - have joined hands with the Hindu Mahajan Association and Indian Social Club for the relief work."

The storm is now battering Iran:

"In Iran, an official in charge of natural disasters was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying: 'So far 12 people in Sistan-Baluchistan and Hormuzgan have been killed and 9 have been injured due to floods.' The report gave no further details of the deaths.

"Iran's Fars news agency, meanwhile, quoted another official as saying that a total of '40,000 villagers are trapped by water in Hormozgan province.'

"Helicopters have been dispatched to the affected areas, the official said, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards Air Force said on Friday it had delivered 40 tonnes of food to the port city of Chabahar in Sistan-Baluchestan province."