So..I am not loving the fact that we had to go through the trauma of a hurricane-in 2007 many villagers lost their lives along the coast. But it was a once in a lifetime experience to live through this-in a country that maybe gets rain a few times a year in the city. A hurricane is unheard off!
Due to the small amount of rain, Muscat receives each year, the houses are not rain resistant. In fact in the years we were there, when it did rain, it would pour in the windows and make a mess of everything! Thankfully most of the floors in houses in Oman are stone, but carpets would have to be rolled up and towels put down all around the windows to minimise the mess.
But a Hurricane-none of us were quite prepared for this. It was the summer season with temperatures above 110 F. The wadis flooded, overflowed, roads, cars and people were literally washed away.
One of our friends looked out from his apartment window so see his car being carried down the street which was now a river.
Many stories were told of people having to climb on their roofs as the water rose.It was a very traumatic event. Then to lose power, have no running water or air conditioning was quite scary. One the night after the hurricane hit, we were not sure how we were going to make it through the night in the sweltering heat. Thankfully we were able to find a place with air conditioning and from midnight to 6 am we survived the night.
Pictures cannot do justice to the chaos and mess that Cyclone Gonu, as it was named, left behind.
But Oman recovered and the thing I love about living through this was that everyone came together to help each other. We were grateful for our lives and and that this was a rare, unexpected event, and hopefully one we will never have to experience again.
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| McDonalds in the Wadi |
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| The Wadi flooding during the Hurricane |
