The UAE-based Gulf News paper cited an Omani police source as saying that some 20,000 people, including in the country's capital of Muscat, were affected by Cyclone Gonu, which caused major damage in the country before moving towards the coast of Iran and Pakistan.
Police and rescuers are continuing the search for those missing. The government estimates the cost of the storm damage at billions of dollars and launched a nationwide relief effort to help the victims of the natural disaster.
Gonu, which reached its maximum force on Tuesday and faded to a category one storm on Wednesday, moved along Oman's heavily-populated coast, sweeping through its main cities, industrial areas and ports.
Omani weather authorities said Thursday that Gonu could be the strongest hurricane to hit Oman's coast since 1977, when at least 500 people were killed by raging storms.
