(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Tropical storm Luban weakened to a deep depression before making landfall in Yemen on Sunday morning but brought about 535mm rainfall to the Governorate of Dhofar. Luban made landfall 30km south of Al Ghaidah in Yemen and further moved west-northwestwards and weakened further into a depression during the day. Heavy rains were witnessed in Dalkout, Salalah and Rakhiout, while the rest of the governorate received occasional downpours along with some parts of Al Wusta.
The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources stated that Dhofar received a record 535mm of rainfall in 16 hours from 4pm on October 13 to 8am on October 14. The figure is likely to go up as the governorate continued to get spells of moderate to heavy rainfall on Sunday. The highest amount of rainfall in Dhofar was recorded in Dalkout (145mm) followed by Salalah (138mm), Rakhiout (133mm), Mirbat (38mm), Shaleem and Al Halaniyat Island (32mm), Sadah (24mm), Taqah (13mm), Thumrait (11mm) and Al Mazyouna (1mm). The highest amount of rainfall recorded in Al Wusta was 11mm in the wilayat of Al Jaser, 9mm in Mahout and 6mm in Haima. The Public Authority for Civil Aviation's National Multi Hazard Early Warning Centre stated in its bulletin on Sunday morning that the centre of the tropical system had crossed the Yemeni coast (Al Mahara).
Occasional thundershowers were expected to continue in Dhofar accompanied by overflowing wadis on Monday. 'The sea's state continues to be rough with maximum wave height ranging between 3m and 5m,' it said.
The dams of Dhofar have been significant in protecting the cities in the governorate especially the low-lying areas.
Speaking to Muscat Daily, Eng Mahmoud bin Mohammed al Azri, director of Water Resources Management in Dhofar governorate, said that the dams in Salalah have been designed to withstand large volumes of rainwater flow caused due to any cyclone.
'Salalah and Sahlnout dams received very little rainwater because all the rain was concentrated in the western region,' he said, adding that Salalah Dam is playing a significant role in protecting the city. Many wadis across Dhofar were in spate with Tawi, Rakah, Aatier in particular overflowing. Traffic was stopped in some areas. The road connecting the wilayat of Dalkout and Hafuf area; and the road between Adawnab and Mughsayl, which leads to Sarfeet, Rakhiout and Dalkout were blocked. Authorities have urged people to stay away from water bodies.
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