Vol 27 Gonu Update

Alrighty then, found an internet cafe open. Internet still not working in my apartment. Something about the IP address. Glad I gave them my money!

Also not working in my apartment, or anywhere in Muscat, is water. Day 5 no water. I did manage to flush my toilet last night, (thank God), by bringing home one of those water cooler jugs full of non-potable water. My apartment smells ALOT better now.

I have a water cooler in my kitchen and I had a full container when the hurricane hit. I still have about 1/2 left so I'd say I'm conserving well. I wash my hair with two coffee cups worth of water and use a wash cloth to bathe. I will sooooo enjoy that first shower when they restore the water. Not sure when that will be. Could be tomorrow, could be 10 days. There are conflicting reports.

My sister sent me a link to someone else's photos of the damage. You can check it out: by clicking here.

The photos there are of the Qurum area. One of the hardest hit. Commercial and residential and the highway goes right through it. Or it used to. Those photos that look like a waterfall are where the highway has fallen. By the time we went there to check it out they had barricaded it so I was not able to get photos.

Also in that area is that fantastic Toyota dealership, (Vol 8). The 3d and 4th pages of photos from the above link are of the cars in their storage yard. They were all picked up and swept away. They all got caught up and formed a dam. This was part of why the flooding in this area was so bad. The water rose to 2o feet, stayed there for about 1/2 hour and then the water rushed. Most of the water had gathered in the commercial area under the highway by the round-a-bout photos I showed you. There are several mini-malls and strip malls in this area. Also a two story McDonald's. The McDonald's had water to the roof. Wish someone had a photo of that. Groceries from the large grocery store in that area, (the only source of Boca Burgers and Ben & Jerry's), were strewn all over the place.

The thing to remember in all of these photos is that everywhere there is dirt and gravel there used to be roads, sidewalks and landscaping. So weird to see it all stripped away.

I found this photo online. It shows the Starbucks on the beach mid storm, (after the road had already fallen).

Everything on Eman's 1st floor was ruined. But she and her husband spent the storm at her Mom's house. When I wrote the last blog we had not heard from her yet, nor had her husbands Mom, so we were kinda worried. Didn't mention it in the blog because I didn't want to jinx it. Turns out her Mom's whole house was destroyed and they all had to be airlifted out of there. For the first couple of days helicopters were constantly overhead, picking up people from the roofs of their houses. Eman was one of those. They are all fine, including their 18 month old. Her Mom's neighbors a few houses away were all lost. Husband, wife and three children. The death toll is around 61 now.


Here's another photo from the internet. That's a car in the middle.

I wasn't sure how I was going to be of service at first- there are so many Indian expats here and they do all the "menial labor" kind of jobs. They are getting thing cleaned up quickly as best they can with no water. I was driving down the highway yesterday and they had closed 2 of the 3 lanes going my direction and about 150 Indian men were sweeping all the dust (used to be mud) off the road. The fallen trees and limbs are almost all picked up. The fire dept is all men here and I still have not made contact with any of the ambulance services here. They are all private, attached to the individual hospitals and clinics. Our office has a water tank on the roof so we have been open the last two days while other offices have not. We've been seeing what feels like every toothache in the city. So I am helping in the way that I can. Working long hours.

I just got a message on my cell phone, (in Arabic, had to have one of the cafe guys translate it), saying that when the water is restored it will not be potable. For cleaning only. Dare I hope? Will I be able to shower in the morning?

Thanks for all the warm wishes, I will give Eman a huge hug when I see her from me and all who love me.