MUSCAT: A powerful cyclone has ripped through the coastal areas of Oman, killing three people including a child and damaging several homes and flooding the capital city Muscat on Sunday

Cyclone Shaheen packing strong winds and rains has barreled into coast areas as thousands of people were evacuated to shelters.

Ahead of the cyclone, authorities moved more than 3,000 people to storm shelters. On Sunday evening the cyclone made landfall on Al Musannah Governorate and Al Suwaiq, while Muscat Governorate, North Al Batinah  and other parts of the country received heavy rainfall. 

Early on Sunday, heavy rains flooded many parts of Muscat bringing life to a complete standstill. A child died after he was drowned, while two expat workers died in Rusayl after their housing accommodation collapsed following landslide.  

Rescue teams pulled bodies of the workers “belonging to an Asian country” from the rubble of a landslide in Rusayl Industrial Area.