Cyclone Mekunu subsides after lashing Oman, killing 2

SALALAH, OMAN: Cyclone Mekunu was downgraded further to a deep depression Saturday, a day after lashing the southern coast of Oman and killing at least two people, authorities said.

Civil defence officials said a man and a 12-year-old girl were killed, while three

Asian nations were missing after the cyclone hit Oman´s Dhofar and Al-Wusta provinces.

Oman police earlier reported that the man died after floods swept him away with his car near Salalah, Oman´s second-largest city, while the girl died when a gust of wind smashed her into a wall.

Mekunu, which has wreaked havoc in Yemen´s Socotra island killing at least seven people, was heading northwest to Saudi Arabia, Oman´s directorate of meteorology said.

It is expected to hit parts of the Empty Quarter, one of the world´s most arid deserts, later Saturday, it said.

The meteorology department said the latest weather charts and satellite imageries indicate that Mekunu´s intensity has dropped to “a deep depression”.

It warned however that heavy rain and strong winds of about 60 kilometres (37 miles) an hour would continue to pummel Dhofar and Al-Wusta provinces, while sea conditions were rough with high tides reaching eight meters (yards).