Oman rescuers search for bodies after deluge causes flash floods

Authorities warn drivers not to cross flooded wadis as death toll reaches four

Flooding has hit southern Oman, including the city of Salalah and the nearby towns of Mirbat, Taqa, Rakhyut and Dhalkut. All photos: Oman News Agency

Flooding along a motorway

Flood waters flow alongside a motorway

Thunderstorms had been expected during the Eid Al Adha holidays, according to Oman's Civil Aviation Authority

Low cloud hangs over a wadi. Officials said more rain is expected in some areas

Heavy rain falls in Salalah, the capital of the southern Dhofar province

Low cloud hangs over a town

Officials said that lives could be lost if motorists attempted to drive across flooded wadis

Waterfalls outside Salalah after heavy thunderstorms

Rescue teams in Oman continued their search for missing people on Sunday after days of heavy downpours caused flooding.

The Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority on Saturday night said crews found the body of a person who went missing in Wadi Ahin outside Sohar city, the fifth fatality to be confirmed.

Efforts are ongoing to trace at least one other missing person, with possibly more unaccounted for.

On Thursday, seven were rescued and four confirmed dead in Dhakiliyah and Rustaq governorates.

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".

More rain as expected in some areas on Sunday, they said.

Outside the town of Ibra in Sharqiyah Governorate, south of Muscat, crews responded to a report about the drowning of three children in a wadi.

Members of the public made efforts to rescue them.

"Two of them are in good health, and the third is dead," Oman News Agency reported.

In the south, there was flooding in the city of Salalah and in the surrounding countryside.

Thunder and showers on the way for UAE and Oman

Forecasters in Oman warned of a fresh deluge of rain from Sunday.

A weather front from the Indian Ocean was due to make landfall on Sunday afternoon.

BBC Weather said Dubai and the Northern Emirates could see thundery showers on Sunday afternoon and Monday.

Temperatures have dipped in recent days.

In Dubai, the mercury sat at 35ºC on Sunday morning, with highs of 38ºC, which is low for July. Temperatures were similar in Abu Dhabi and forecast to remain below 40ºC.