A number of residents and citizens across the capital received an emergency warning alert on their mobile phones as part of the trial runs conducted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Omantel and Ooredoo.
Several local residents who confirmed to the Observer about receiving the trial ‘alert ‘ on their mobile phones around 10 am on Tuesday, were initially clueless about the purpose of having such alerts at a time when there have been no reports of cyclones and rains due to unstable weather.
“I was totally clueless about the campaign started by the government and had no idea about the trial runs. All mobile phones at my home received this alert,” said Sara Khan, who was among the first to enquire about the message with the Observer.
While most of them were surprised on receiving this message, some complained of not getting them at all or even once.
The first-of-its-kind service in the Sultanate of Oman in accordance with the scheduled timeline has been carried out in the coastal wilayats of the Al Sharqiyah South and Al Wusta governorates.
It will be carried out in Dhofar Governorate on Wednesday.
The service provides several features including broadcasting instructions and a number of awareness messages to alert of catastrophes such as hurricanes, tsunamis, heavy rains, strong winds, and poor horizontal vision in four languages: Arabic, English, Hindi, and Urdu.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is currently working on a complete revamp of the early warning system under a three-year plan which will be completed by 2025-26.
Under the new system, CAA will be able to provide accurate and localised advisories, which will save human lives and minimise damages to properties, Naif al Abri, Chairman, told the Observer.
While a new automatic meteorological station has been established in Barka, the new early warning project has been supported by the directives of His Majesty the Sultan with RO 8 million.
Upgrades to the early warning system will help in flood forecasting, including drawing the map of flowing wadis seven to eight hours in advance.
Abdullah bin Rashid al Khadouri, Director General, of Oman Meteorology, said the Muzn programme seeks to upgrade the early warning system, train the national human resources technically and scientifically, and raise the efficiency and quality of warnings, alerts, meteorological services, and early warning.
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