Hundreds of commercial outlets in the traditional Muttrah Souq remained closed on Wednesday as the gushing water in the aftermath of the Tuesday rains made passage into the paved souq near to impossible.
The rainwater that flowed from the parking side towards the sea kept everyone on pins swiping away the loose objects en route and continued till Wednesday late evening.
"I couldn't enter the antique shop where I work and we stayed at the entrance points of the souq through the day expecting the strong water flow to weaken," Mohammed Sadiq, one of the employees inside the souq, said.
Some of the vendors heaved sigh of relief as the torrential rains didn't cause much damage, and they could save their stocks unscathed, thanks to the preventive measures against floods inside the souq.
"When flash floods and gushing water after the rains became a routine, the Muscat Municipality and other authorities made some changes to the souq, such as elevating the floor level and constructing better drainage systems because of which we are not affected badly," Abdul Rahim al Lawati, who owns a shop inherited from his father, said.
"We had shifted most of our water-sensitive stocks to an elevated area and were standing guard in close vicinity of the souq and we are glad that the stocks were safe,” said Abdul Latheef, another merchant.
Muttrah traders inside the souq bore the brunt of the adverse rains in the past; the last such situation occurred in October 2021 when Shaheen wreaked havoc in the country followed by other similar incidents during the torrential rains.
This traditional souq, which is the largest one in the Sultanate of Oman, is also the livelihood for more than 5,000 vendors, salesmen and craftsmen from across the world, along with citizens, and traditional tradesmen and residents around.
The loss suffered by the souq during the rains in the past was colossal and they thanked the authorities for adopting effective measures against the adverse weather in advance.
Mohammed Kunhi, who runs a traditional Omani herbs shop at the entrance of the souq, made it to his outlet since morning and he was one of the few who managed to open the shops. However, lack of customers made his efforts in vein and closed the shop by early evening.
"Some of us who have shops near to the pavement and entrance gates managed to open our shops but there was not even a single person out there as most of the customers remained indoors or didn't visit the souq fearing rain and flash floods," Mohammed said.
Muscat Municipality has warned vendors and others who worked inside the souq to stay cautious against electrical hazards as several lines seemed broken and remained in the ponds of water. However, having the power supply discontinued for some time helped save lives from electrical shock.
Meanwhile, cleaning personnel from Muscat Municipality were seen on the roads and wadis cleaning the debris as soon as the rains subsided on Wednesday morning.
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