Authorities in war-hit Yemen and in Oman on Saturday urged residents to evacuate coastal areas as a severe cyclone brewing in the Arabian Sea approached the shores.
The UN's weather agency said on Friday that the "super cyclonic storm" named Chapala was expected to make landfall around midnight on Monday in Yemen and Oman.
To the east, Omani authorities ordered that schools be closed on Sunday and Monday in the southwestern province of Dhofar, ONA state news agency said, adding that medical and diving teams had been sent there in preparation for the storm.
Satellite images have shown that Chapala was approaching the shores with wind speeds between 220 and 250 kmph, ONA said. Oman's civil aviation authority warned that waves higher than seven metres were expected to hit the beaches of Dhofar.
Yemen's meteorological agency called on residents of the southeastern provinces of Hadramawt and Mohrah, and the island of Socotra, to stay at least one kilometre away from the shores.
Published: Sun 1 Nov 2015, 9:42 PM
Updated: Mon 2 Nov 2015, 7:53 AM
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