In the midst of disruptive rains...

Unseasonal rains wreaking havoc is a subject of immense concern, as this increasing weather anomaly can impact the loss of human lives, the devastation of crops and livestock, and community disruption.

Rainfalls of various intensities are continuously occurring in several parts of the world, and scientists link them to climate change. They believe human-caused global warming is to blame because “climate change is supercharging the water cycle’s evaporation process and messing with rainfall patterns.”

According to a World Organisation report, between 80 and 90 per cent of all documented disasters are from natural hazards over the past 10 years that have resulted from floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, heat waves, and severe storms.

“Floods are also increasing in frequency and intensity, and the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation are expected to continue to increase due to climate change," the report points out. Globally, nearly 1.5 billion people, or 20 per cent of the world population, have at least a moderate risk of flood exposure.

A report in the Journal of Arid Environments says that flash floods are a recognised natural hazard in ephemeral wadi systems.

“Unfortunately, such floods are posing growing threats, especially for cities and expanding urban areas, where it could be argued that the speed of development has outpaced the analysis of flood risk," the report adds.

Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council are no exception to torrential rains and floods becoming frequent headlines in the news. Since the very beginning of this year, there have been a lot of spots in the Gulf region that have received heavy rains.

The Sultanate of Oman is currently experiencing unusually heavy rainfall accompanied by wind and hail for the last few days. This has triggered strong wadi flows in many parts of the country and resulted in destructive flooding, resulting in the loss of lives and damage to property.

Flooding is the most frequent type of natural disaster, especially in connection with adverse weather conditions in the arid countries of the Arabian region, and occurs when an overflow of water submerges land that is usually dry.

Oman experienced 22 extreme weather events between 2007 and 2021, six of them cyclones. The country has witnessed how the rain waters transform the wadis into a raging sea of water in minutes, leading to dangerous flash floods. Severe wadi flash floods have occurred repeatedly within the last many years, causing a huge impact on human lives and properties.

As research has found, a large quantity of sediment usually comes with flash floods from upstream and reaches the Wadi basins during flash floods, leading to environmental problems.

“In dry environments such as Wadi basins, the aforementioned problems are expected to be more serious and destructive than for perennial rivers, particularly with respect to climate change," the research on “Wadi flash floods” with reference to Oman points out.

As rains become more frequent and intense, many scientists in the world link it to climate change. They believe human-caused global warming is to blame because climate change is supercharging the water cycle’s evaporation process and messing with rainfall patterns.

This means there is no escape from unseasonal or abnormal rainfall events. We need to learn lessons from them to be better prepared to minimise the damage.

Although disaster risk reduction and water harvesting have been priorities of the Government of Oman, all parties concerned, including government and non-government organisations, should continue taking serious actions to mitigate and harvest flash floods, which should include structural and non-structural measures.