Weakening storm Gonu leaves Oman swamped
Ap, Muscat
People dragged soaked bedding and carpets from homes Thursday after Cyclone Gonu's winds blew down trees and power lines and its rains sent torrents of water and mud surging through Oman's seaside capital, a city often called the Arab world's tidiest. After pummelling normally hot and dry Oman and Iran's southeastern coast, Gonu weakened to a tropical storm and was expected to dissipate into a rainstorm by Thursday night as it moved over the sea toward Iran. At least 35 people were dead, most of them in Oman, and 30 were missing. The storm spared the region's oil installations, and oil prices dipped on world markets. Cleanup crews fanned out across Muscat. Bulldozers scraped away layers of mud and rocks that washed down from the mountains when heavy rain flooded canyons and dry riverbeds Wednesday night. Soldiers pumped water from low-lying roads.
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