Last week Oman saw an extremely severe Tropical Cyclone which devastated whole communities especially in the Northern part of Oman, Al Batinah.
The clean up operation is still ongoing and hundreds of thousands of volunteers from all parts of Oman travelled to the worst hit places to help to clear up the devastation.
Families have been left without homes and lives and livelihoods were lost in this devastating climatic event. It will take years to rebuild the communities and there is high concern for the mental health of those in the epicenter who would have suffered severe trauma.
Oman and Omanis have been quick to react and with help and support hopefully these areas will be able to come back stronger than before, with time.
Ras Al Hadd on the North East corner of Oman was comparatively barely touched by the Hurricane but saw high winds and seas.
On a morning walk today I saw the effects that these conditions had on the Green turtle population, for which Ras Al Hadd and the surrounding area is a hugely important site for this globally endangered species.
Hundreds of thousands of eggs and tens of thousands of baby turtles (and perhaps more) had been ripped from the sand as all of the nests on the beach had been unearthed.
The population, already suffering due to disastrous effects of abandoned fishing gear at sea and other causes has perhaps taken a large hit and future more frequent weather conditions such as this could play a role in the furthering diminishing the of numbers of this and other turtle species.
Author: Master of Science in Ecology and Environmental Sustainability from United Kingdom.
