MUSCAT: There is no denying that the rough and turbulent weather has dampened the festive and joyous Eid Al Adha spirits in the Sultanate of Oman.

Several parts of the Sultanate have been witnessing heavy rainfall and flash floods. Over the past few days, the authorities have been receiving quite a bit of distress calls due to the thunderstorms and overflowing wadis in various governorates.

A number of incidents of drowning have been reported by the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority. Soon after such incidents became rampant, the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority (CDAA) announced, on Sunday, a temporary closure of all tourist sites in Oman due to the inclement weather conditions.

What pushed the CDAA to take such a step?

Obviously to prevent tourists and visitors crossing the flooding wadis and venturing into the sea during such rough weather.

It was also noticed that despite issuing warnings and alerts by competent authorities, people have been stepping out for non-emergency purposes, instead of staying put within the safety of their homes. Additionally, many individuals were also found risking their lives for the sake of taking selfies.

Speaking exclusively to The Arabian Stories, a senior official at the Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority said, “While the act of taking a selfie in itself isn’t harmful or dangerous, taking a selfie in a dangerous location is.”

“As a society, we need to be aware of this. We need to be more responsible especially when warnings are issued by the authorities,” he said. “We all know the weather was bad and it was dangerous to even go near the strong waves but just for the sake of posing for a picture, why should one take that risk? The answer should come from that individual,” he added.

Warnings, alerts fall short

Due to a large number of reports, and non-adherence to instructions, directives, and warnings, CDAA calls upon all the citizens, residents and visitors to Oman to visit tourist attractions, that until this situation ends, such sites will be closed, and they will not be allowed to be approached, the CDAA said on Sunday.

On Sunday, an expatriate family of eight, including children fell off a cliff in Al Mughsayl beach in Dhofar Governorate. While three were immediately rescued, CDAA recovered the bodies of two people on Tuesday morning. “Search operation is still underway for the remaining three people,” CDAA said in a statement.