MUSCAT: Extremely heavy rains unleashed flash floods across many parts of Oman, disrupting normal life on Sunday.

12 people including an expatriate died, while search is underway for eight people. The Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority (CDAA) rescued 1,200 people including students from a flooded school in Al Mudhaibi.

Meanwhile, schools and colleges will be closed on April 15 in six governorates as the country is likely to experience continuous rainfall on Monday.

Nasser Said Al Ismaili, Acting Director of the Weather Forecast Department and the Early Warning System at the CAA, said that the rains will cover the governorates of North A’Sharqiyah, South A’Sharqiyah, A’Dakhiliyah, Muscat, South Al Batinah and North Al Batinah.

He added that the volume of expected rains would range from 30mm to 120 mm in most governorates, and that the rains are likely to be heavy, accompanied by thunders, active downward winds and hailstones.