One dead as storm slams Oman, Yemen

ADEN — At least one person was killed when tropical storm Luban slammed into the southern coasts of Oman and neighbouring Yemen, Omani civil defence said Monday.

The man was found dead late Sunday in a valley in the province of Dhofar, which borders eastern Yemen, the sultanate's civil defence said.

News of the death came as a Yemeni official warned the storm had left the country's eastern province of Mahra in "disaster".

The area was a "disaster because of the torrential rains that hit the province and caused great losses to public and private property", said Mahra governor Rajeh Bakrit, quoted by the official SABA news agency.

"The situation is catastrophic in the province and beyond the capabilities of the local authorities," Bakrit said, calling on a Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognised government in Yemen's war to step in and provide support.

For his part, Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Bin Dagher called on international relief organisations to assist the eastern province.

Schools in southern Oman were closed last week as the storm gathered strength in the Arabian Sea.

But Oman's Public Authority for Civil Aviation downgraded Luban from cyclone to tropical storm as it drew nearer to the coast.

In May, Cyclone Mekunu smashed into the Yemeni island of Socotra and southern Oman, killing at least 11 people.

The cyclone had isolated parts of Socotra Island — part of a UNESCO-protected archipelago for its rich biodiversity — with the government also declaring it a "disaster" zone.