Hurricane in Oman

Via Bryan at Why Now? and the excellent Dr. Jeff Master's site, updates on the first ever hurricane to come aground in this area:

Weather obs from Musqat showed that pressure went down to 993mb and stayed there for three hours, and winds have been steady at around 30mph with gusts to 50mph.

The AP reported, 'Oman's eastern provinces were cut off, with heavy rains making the roads unusable and communication lines severed. "We have no communication with them, nothing," said a senior police officer.'

GulfNews notes: 'Azhar Al Kindi, a member of Oman's National Committee for Civil Defence, said the government was working to restore power to the region.

He added: “There is extensive damage to properties in most towns in the eastern region including Sur and Ras Al Hadd.'

Gonu has weakened and is moving parallel to the Oman coast, but enough offshore that there will be very little in the effects of wind -- however surge and waves will still be a problem, and possibly rain.

(Picture taken from article)

Updating from this post.

What kind of weather will our nine warships in the Persian Gulf experience?

Category 5 hurricane nearing Oman

Via Sorghum Crow at Sorghum Crow's General Store, a Category 5 hurricane is aiming at Oman. Why should we care?

Oman:

Oman’s economy is heavily reliant on oil revenues, which account for about 75 percent of the country’s export earnings and 40 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). During 2006, Oman’s real GDP grew at an estimated rate of 4.2 percent, down from 5.7 percent in 2005. The slowdown in economic growth occurred largely as a result of declining oil production in Oman. To help offset these declines, the government has devoted considerable resources to new exploration and production activities, enhanced oil recovery projects, and introduced policies aimed at diversifying the country’s economy away from the oil sector. The development of natural gas reserves in Oman is a central part of this effort, and natural gas production is likely to expand considerably during the next several years.

All of Oman’s domestic energy consumption is supplied by natural gas and oil, reflecting the country’s relative abundance of oil and natural gas reserves.

And don't forget the nine warships we have bobbing about in the Persian Gulf.....

Updates found here.