Muscat, Oman – Thousands of people fled low-lying areas as the strongest cyclone to threaten the Arabian Peninsula in 60 years blasted Oman’s eastern coast early today with strong winds and waves, Civil Defense officials said. Southern Iran and the oil-rich Persian Gulf were next in its path.
Cyclone-force winds of Gonu, which had been churning northwest through the Indian Ocean, reached the Omani coastal towns of Sur and Ra’s al-Hadd. Officials said the storm was dropping heavy rains on the capital, Muscat, and other nearby towns, but it was not known whether the storm was causing any damage.
Cyclone Gonu had weakened somewhat during the day but was still packing winds of up to 106 mph and churning up ocean waves of several feet, the officials said.
Gonu was expected to skirt the region’s biggest oil installations but could disrupt shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, causing a spike in prices, oil analysts said.
Oil prices rose on Monday but retreated Tuesday, although the storm weighed heavily on the market.
“If the storm hits Iran, it’s a much bigger story than Oman, given how much bigger an oil producer Iran is,” said Antoine Haff of FIMAT USA, a brokerage unit of Societe Generale.
The cyclone was expected to hit land in southeastern Iran late today or early Thursday, Washburn said.
