MUSCAT: According to Oman’s Meteorology, the cyclone’s center was located between Al Musannah and Al Suwaiq at 8 p.m. Oman time, with winds reaching 75 knots (139 km/h). The heaviest rainfall and strongest winds were concentrated along the coast from Al Musannah to Saham.
The Suwaiq meteorological station recorded 294 millimetres of cumulative rainfall, while the cyclone caused extensive damage to homes, farms, roads, transport infrastructure, electricity networks and water supplies.
The National Committee for Emergency Management recorded 12 deaths caused by flooding during the storm.
Shaheen made landfall at approximately 4 p.m. UTC on October 3, 2021, near Al Musannah. The storm was notable because tropical cyclones of this strength making landfall along Oman’s northern Al Batinah coast are relatively unusual.
Oman’s Meteorology Department has described Shaheen as the second-strongest tropical cyclone recorded in the region over the past 130 years, behind the devastating cyclone of 1890.
During the period surrounding the storm, Oman’s National Multi-Hazard Early Warning Center issued 13 official statements and 49 updates on X, providing forecasts, alerts, warnings and information between September 26 and October 4, 2021.
The name “Shaheen,” meaning peregrine falcon in Arabic, was proposed by Qatar as part of the cyclone naming system used for the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea under the World Meteorological Organization’s operational plans.
The Meteorology Department has published a comprehensive report documenting Tropical Cyclone Shaheen’s development, track and impacts on Oman between October 1 and 4, 2021.