</s>SALALAH, Oman -- Cyclone Mekunu neared the Arabian Peninsula on Friday as its outer bands dumped heavy rain and bent palm trees in Oman, a sign of the approaching storm's power after earlier thrashing the Yemeni island of Socotra.

Already at least 40 people, including Yemenis, Indians and Sudanese, were reported missing on Socotra, where flash floods washed away thousands of animals and cut power lines on the isle in the Arabian Sea. Officials feared some may be dead while authorities in Oman confirmed the first death in the cyclone.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall early Saturday near Salalah, Oman's third-largest city and home to some 200,000 people close to the sultanate's border with war-ravaged Yemen.

Conditions quickly deteriorated in Salalah after sunrise Friday, with winds and rain beginning to pick up. Strong waves smashed into empty tourist beaches. Many holidaymakers fled the storm Thursday night before Salalah International Airport closed. The Port of Salalah - a key gateway for the country - also closed, its cranes secured against the pounding rain.

Streets quickly emptied across the city. Standing water covered roads and caused at least one car to hydroplane and flip over.

Later, a municipal worker on a massive loader used its bucket to tear into a road median to drain a flooded street, showing how desperate the situation could become.

Omani forecasters warned Salalah and the surrounding area would get at least 200 millimeters (7.87 inches) of rain, over twice the amount of rain this city typically gets in a year. Authorities remained worried about flash flooding in the area's valleys and potential mudslides down its nearby cloud-shrouded mountains.

A sizable police presence fanned out across Salalah, the hometown of Oman's longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Many officers rode in Royal Oman Police SUVs with chicken wire over the windows, likely because their other vehicles weren't tall enough to manoeuvr through the flood water.

“Of course, for the citizen there is going to be a sense of fear of the consequences that can happen,” said Brig. Gen. Mohsin bin Ahmed al-Abri, the commander of Dhofar governorate's police. “We have been through a few similar cases and there were losses in properties and also in human life as well. But one has to take precautions and work on that basis.”

The Royal Oman Police later said on Twitter that a 12-year-old girl died after winds from the cyclone threw her against a wall.

As torrential rains poured down, local authorities opened schools to shelter those whose homes are at risk. About 600 people, mostly labourers, huddled at the West Salalah School, some sleeping on mattresses on the floors of classrooms, where math and English lesson posters hung on the walls.

Shahid Kazmi, a worker from Pakistan's Kashmir region, told The Associated Press that police moved him and others to the school. He acknowledged being a bit scared of the storm but said: “Inshallah, we are safe here.”

India's Meteorological Department said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of170-180 kph (105 to 111 mph), gusting up to 200 kph (124 mph). They described the cyclone as “extremely severe.”

“Salalah is expected to experience maximum wind and maximum rainfall and also the maximum storm surge,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra of the department.

On Socotra, authorities relocated over 230 families to sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island's mountains, Yemeni security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

Flash floods engulfed Socotra streets, cutting electricity and communication lines, they said. At least 40 people were missing, they added. Some humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived on the island just hours after the cyclone receded.

The officials said heavy rains pummeled Yemen's easternmost province of al-Mahra, along the nation's border with Oman.

Socotra Gov. Ramzy Mahrous said one ship sank and two others ran aground in the storm, initially saying authorities believed 17 people were missing.

“We consider them dead,” the governor said.

Yemen's self-exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi issued a statement ordering troops under his command on the island to help citizens, deliver supplies and reopen roads.

The island, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, has been the focus of a dispute between the UAE and Yemen's internationally recognized government amid that country's war after Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Socotra has a unique ecosystem and is home to rare plants, snails and reptiles that can be found nowhere else on the planet. It is known for its flower-and-fruit bearing dragon blood tree, which resembles an umbrella and gets its name from the dark red sap it secretes.

A cyclone is the same as a hurricane or a typhoon; their names only change because of their location. Hurricanes are spawned east of the international date line. Typhoons develop west of the line and are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean and Australia.

Powerful cyclones are rare in Oman. Over a roughly 100-year period ending in 1996, only 17 recorded cyclones struck the sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. In 2007, Cyclone Gonu tore through Oman and later even reached Iran, causing $4 billion in damage in Oman alone and killing over 70 people across the Mideast.

The last hurricane-strength storm to strike within 160 kilometres (100 miles) of Salalah came in May 1959, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's archives. However, that cyclone was categorized as a Category 1 hurricane, meaning it only had winds of up to 152 kph (95 mph).

Mekunu, which means “mullet” in Dhivehi, the language spoken in the Maldives, is on track to potentially be the same strength as a Category 2 hurricane at landfall. It also comes just days after Cyclone Sagar struck Somalia.

Associated Press writers Fay Abuelgasim in Salalah, Oman; Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen; and Menna Zaki in Cairo contributed to this report.</s>Cyclone Mekunu was downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday, a day after lashing the southern coast of Oman and killing at least two people, authorities said.

The storm had intensified to a category two cyclone as it hit Oman's Dhofar and Al-Wusta provinces on the Arabian Sea on Friday, battering the coast with torrential rains, strong winds and massive waves.

The national civil defence committee said on Saturday the cyclone had subsided to a tropical storm but was still pummelling the country with heavy rain and winds at some 90 kilometres (56 miles) an hour.

Oman's directorate general of meteorology said the cyclone had gone inland and was heading northwest into Saudi Arabia, but that heavy rains would likely continue into Sunday.

Oman police reported that a man died after floods swept him away with his car near Salalah, a day after a 12-year old girl died when a gust of wind smashed her into a wall.

Three wounded Asians were rescued and civil defence teams said they had saved hundreds of people including 260 foreign sailors trapped at sea.

Five Yemenis and two Indian sailors were confirmed dead when Mekunu hit Yemen's Socotra island on Thursday, causing heavy damage, Yemen's fisheries minister Fahad Kafin said.

Rescue teams on Friday found alive four Indian sailors who had been declared missing. The search is ongoing for eight Indian sailors who went missing when the cyclone hit Socotra's port.

In Salalah, rains had almost stopped on Saturday, an AFP photographer said, but many streets were still under water and nearby valleys were flooded.

Material damage was mostly limited to agriculture, with many farms swept by winds at up to 170 kilometres (105 miles), he added.

Mekunu is now heading towards southern Saudi Arabia and is expected to hit parts of the Empty Quarter, one of the world's most arid deserts, late Saturday.</s>SALALAH, Oman — Cyclone Mekunu has blown into the Arabian Peninsula, drenching arid Oman and Yemen with rain and cutting off power lines.

Portions of Salalah, Oman’s third-largest city, lost electricity early Saturday as the cyclone made landfall. Streets already were flooded and in some places impassable.

While there is no rain at dawn Saturday, strong winds are still lashing the region.

Police late Friday night said at least one person, a 12-year-old girl, died in the storm. At least 40 others are missing from the Yemeni island of Socotra, which earlier took the storm’s brunt.

India’s Meteorological Department says the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 170-180 kilometres (105-111 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 200 kph (124 mph). It called the cyclone “extremely severe.”</s>SALALAH, Oman - Cyclone Mekunu was downgraded further to a deep depression Saturday, a day after lashing the southern coast of Oman and killing at least two people, authorities said.

Civil defence officials said a man and a 12-year-old girl were killed, while three Asian nations were missing after the cyclone hit Oman’s Dhofar and Al-Wusta provinces.

Oman police earlier reported that the man died after floods swept him away with his car near Salalah, Oman’s second-largest city, while the girl died when a gust of wind smashed her into a wall.

Mekunu, which has wreaked havoc in Yemen’s Socotra island killing at least seven people, was heading northwest to Saudi Arabia, Oman’s directorate of meteorology said. It is expected to hit parts of the Empty Quarter, one of the world’s most arid deserts, later Saturday, it said.

The meteorology department said the latest weather charts and satellite imageries indicate that Mekunu’s intensity has dropped to “a deep depression”.

It warned however that heavy rain and strong winds of about 60 kilometres (37 miles) an hour would continue to pummel Dhofar and Al-Wusta provinces, while sea conditions were rough with high tides reaching eight meters (yards).

Mekunu had intensified to a category two cyclone as it hit Dhofar and Al-Wusta on the Arabian Sea on Friday, battering the coast with torrential rains, strong winds and massive waves.

Three wounded Asians were rescued and civil defence teams said they had saved hundreds of people including 260 foreign sailors trapped at sea.

Five Yemenis and two Indian sailors were confirmed dead when Mekunu hit Socotra in war-torn Yemen on Thursday, causing heavy damage, Yemen’s fisheries minister Fahad Kafin said.

The government declared the island in the northwest Indian Ocean, part of a UNESCO-protected archipelago for its rich biodiversity, a “disaster” zone.

Rescue teams on Friday found alive four Indian sailors who were among 17 who had been reported missing when the cyclone hit Socotra’s port, and search operations are continuing for eight Indian sailors.

In Salalah, the heavy rain had almost stopped on Saturday, an AFP photographer said, but many streets were still under water and nearby valleys were flooded.

Material damage was mostly limited to agriculture, with many farms swept by winds blowing at up to 170 kilometres (105 miles), he added.

Oman’s civil aviation meanwhile decided to reopen on Sunday Salalah Airport, which had been closed for the past three days. Authorities said however that schools would remain closed until Monday.</s>SALALAH, Oman (AP) — The Latest on Cyclone Mekunu that is headed for the coast of Oman (all times local):

The Royal Oman Police says a 12-year-old girl has died after the winds of Cyclone Mekunu caused her to collide with a wall.

The death is the first confirmed in the powerful cyclone.

Police made the statement late Friday night as the cyclone neared Salalah, Oman's third-largest city in its south.

Officials say preliminary figures show 40 people — among them Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals — are missing after Cyclone Mekunu battered the island of Socotra off the coast of Yemen.

The officials said Friday that over 230 families had been relocated to shelter in sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island's mountains.

They say floods swept Socotra streets, washed away thousands of animals and cut electricity and communication lines. Some humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived just hours after the cyclone receded.

The officials say heavy rains are now pummeling Yemen's easternmost province of al-Mahra, on the border with Oman. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The Indian Meteorological Department, which tracks a cyclone heading toward the coast of Oman, says that country's city of Salalah is "expected to experience maximum wind and maximum rainfall and also the maximum storm surge."

Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, an official at the department, says Cyclone Mekunu is now "located about 180 kilometers south south-east of Salalah," which is about 112 miles.

The official says the cyclone's wind speed is at present about 160-170 kilometers per hour (100-106 miles per hour), coasting to about 190 kph, and was expected to continue at this speed till landfall over Oman.

Streets are largely empty in the Omani coastal city of Salalah ahead of Cyclone Mekunu's expected landfall there this weekend.

Heavy rains and strong winds are already lashing the city. Standing water covered some roads on Friday, causing at least one car to hydroplane and flip over.

There was a sizable police presence on the road, many Royal Oman Police SUVs with chicken wire over the windows. The Port of Salalah has been closed, its cranes secured as rain pounded them.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall early on Saturday near Salalah, Oman's third-largest city and home to some 200,000 people.

Authorities in Oman have opened up local schools in the city of Salalah to shelter those whose homes are at risk as Cyclone Mekunu heads to the shores of this Arabian Peninsula country.

About 600 people, mostly laborers, gathered on Friday at the city's West Salalah School as torrential rains poured down. Some slept on mattresses on the floors of classrooms, where math and English lesson posters hung on the walls.

Shahid Kazmi, a worker from Pakistan's Kashmir region, told The Associated Press that police had moved him and others to the school.

He acknowledged being a bit scared of the storm but said: "Inshallah, we are safe here."

Meteorologists are warning that Cyclone Mekunu is expected to be "extremely severe" when it makes landfall on the Arabian Peninsula this weekend, after earlier thrashing the Yemeni island of Socotra.

At least 17 people are missing from Socotra, with one Yemeni official describing them as likely dead.

Indian meteorologists tracking the cyclone said early Friday that Mekunu would see gusts of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall early Saturday on the Arabian Peninsula near Salalah, Oman's third-largest city and home to some 200,000 people. Strong waves already are crashing into its beaches early Friday morning.

On Socotra, Gov. Ramzy Mahrous says one ship sank and two others ran aground in the storm.

He says of the missing: "We consider them dead."</s>SALALAH, Oman -- A cyclone more powerful than any previously recorded in southern Oman slammed into the Gulf country and neighbouring Yemen on Saturday, deluging a major city with nearly three years' worth of rainfall in single day. The storm killed at least five people while more than 30 remain missing, officials said.

Cyclone Mekunu caused flash flooding that tore away whole roadways and submerged others in Salalah, Oman's third-largest city, stranding drivers. Strong winds knocked over street lights and tore away roofing.

Rushing waters from the rain and storm surges flooded typically dry creek beds. The holiday destination's now-empty tourist beaches were littered with debris and foam from the churning Arabian Sea.

Three people, including a 12-year-old girl, died in Oman, and another two bodies were recovered from the Yemeni island of Socotra. More than 30 people were still missing in Socotra, including Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals.

Yemeni officials also reported damage in the country's far east, along the border with Oman. Rageh Bakrit, the governor of al-Mahra province, said on his official Twitter account late Friday that strong winds had blown down houses and taken out communication lines and water services. He said there were no fatalities in the province.

India's Meteorological Department said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 170-180 kilometres (105-111 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 200 kph (124 mph). It called the cyclone "extremely severe."

Portions of Salalah, home to some 200,000 people, lost power as the cyclone made landfall.

Branches and leaves littered the streets. Several underpasses became standing lakes. Some cars were left abandoned on the road. Electrical workers began trying to repair lines in the city while police and soldiers in SUVs patrolled the streets. On the outskirts of the city, near the Salalah International Airport, what once was a dry creek bed had become a raging river.

The airport, closed since Thursday, will reopen early Sunday, Oman's Public Authority for Civil Aviation said. The Port of Salalah -- a key gateway for the country and for Qatar amid a regional diplomatic dispute -- remained closed, its cranes secured against the pounding rain and winds.

Omani forecasters said Salalah and the surrounding area would get at least 200 millimeters (7.87 inches) of rain, over twice the city's annual downfall. It actually received 278.2 mm, nearly three times its annual rainfall.

Authorities remained worried about flash flooding in the area's valleys and potential mudslides down its nearby cloud-shrouded mountains. In nearby Wadi Darbat, the storm's rains supercharged its famous waterfall.

Police and others continued their rescue efforts even as the winds and rains calmed. Capt. Tarek al-Shanfari of the Royal Oman Police's public relations department said there had been at least three fatalities in the storm, including the death of a 12-year-old girl who was hit in the head by a door flung open by the wind.

An Asian labourer died in a flooded valley and an Omani national in a 4x4 died when his vehicle was swept away, al-Shanfari said.

On Socotra, authorities relocated over 230 families to sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island's mountains, Yemeni security officials said.

Flash floods engulfed Socotra's streets, cutting electricity and communication lines. Some humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived on the island just hours after the cyclone receded.

Yemeni security officials said rescuers recovered two bodies on Socotra, while more than 30 people remain missing. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

The island, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, has been the focus of a dispute between the UAE and Yemen's internationally recognized government, which are ostensibly allied against Shiite rebels known as Houthis.

Socotra has a unique ecosystem and is home to plants, snails and reptiles that can be found nowhere else.

In Oman, Mohammed Omer Baomer warned his neighbours about a torn-away chunk of road just down the street from his home after earlier getting his SUV stuck over it.

"It was a scary feeling, as if it was the end of world," he said of the cyclone. "You can't even go outside. You try to watch from the window and you can't."

Yet even as Mekunu barrelled overhead, the eye of the storm provided a moment's respite early Saturday morning. At one luxury hotel in Salalah, which already had evacuated its guests, workers sat down early for "suhoor," a meal Muslims eat before sunrise during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. They laughed and shared plates by flashlight in a darkened ballroom, the cyclone's wind a dull roar behind their clatter.

Associated Press writers Fay Abuelgasim in Salalah, Oman, and Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.</s>SALALAH, Oman (AP) — Cyclone Mekunu will be "extremely severe" when it crashes into the Arabian Peninsula this weekend, meteorologists warned Friday, after earlier thrashing the Yemeni island of Socotra. At least 17 people are missing from Socotra, with one Yemeni official describing them as likely dead.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall early Saturday near Salalah, Oman's third-largest city and home to some 200,000 people near the sultanate's border with war-ravaged Yemen.

Conditions quickly deteriorated in Salalah after sunrise Friday, with winds and rain beginning to pick up. Strong waves smashed into empty tourist beaches. Many holidaymakers fled the storm Thursday night before Salalah International Airport closed.

India's Meteorological Department said the storm in the Arabian Sea was packing maximum sustained winds of 160-170 kilometers (99-106 miles) per hour, with gusts of up to 180 kph (112 mph).

On Socotra, Gov. Ramzy Mahrous said one ship sank and two others ran aground in the storm. The storm sent torrents of rain pouring through homes and streets, leaving residents soaking wet and trying to wade to safety.

He said of the 17 missing: "We consider them dead."

Yemen's self-exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in a statement ordered troops under his command on the island to help citizens, deliver supplies and reopen roads.

The island, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, has been the focus of a dispute between the United Arab Emirates and Yemen's internationally recognized government amid that country's war after Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Saudi troops recently deployed on Socotra as a confidence-building measure over complaints by Yemen's government that the UAE deployed troops there without its permission.

Socotra has a unique ecosystem and is home to rare plants, snails and reptiles that can be found nowhere else on the planet. It is known for its flower-and-fruit bearing dragon blood tree, which resembles an umbrella and gets its name from the dark red sap it secretes.

Salalah, the hometown of Oman's longtime ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, already began sandbagging low-lying doors and warning residents not to go into valleys for fears of flashing flooding.

Oman sent rescue helicopters to remote villages in its Dhofar governorate to evacuate those who could be impacted by flooding or mudslides. It also evacuated the critically ill from Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, flying them north to Muscat, the country's capital.

The port of Salalah, crucial to Qatar amid a boycott by four Arab nations over a diplomatic spat with Doha, said it also had taken precautions and secured cranes ahead of the cyclone.

Seasonal rains are nothing unusual for southern Oman this time of year. While the rest of the Arabian Peninsula bakes in areas where temperatures near 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), those in the sleepy port city of Salalah enjoy rainy weather that sees fog and cool air wrap around its lush mountainsides. Temperatures drop down around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) during its annual monsoon festival.

Powerful cyclones, however, are rare. Over a roughly 100-year period ending in 1996, only 17 recorded cyclones struck Oman. In 2007, Cyclone Gonu tore through the sultanate and later even reached Iran, causing $4 billion in damage in Oman alone and killing over 70 people across the Mideast.

The last hurricane-strength storm to strike within 160 kilometers (100 miles) of Salalah came in May 1959, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's archives. However, that cyclone was categorized as a Category 1 hurricane, meaning it only had winds of up to 152 kph (95 mph).

A cyclone is the same as a hurricane or a typhoon; their names only change because of their location. Hurricanes are spawned east of the international date line. Typhoons develop west of the line and are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean and Australia.

Mekunu, which means "mullet" in Dhivehi, the language spoken in the Maldives, is on track to potentially be the same strength as a Category 2 hurricane at landfall. It also comes just days after Cyclone Sagar struck Somalia.

His work can be found at http://apne.ws/2galNpz

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Cyclone Mekunu has made landfall across the Arabian Peninsula, leaving at least five people dead and more than 30 missing, officials in Oman and Yemen said.

Cyclone Mekunu has made landfall across the Arabian Peninsula, leaving at least five people dead and more than 30 missing, officials in Oman and Yemen said.

Three people, including a 12-year-old girl, died in Oman, and another two bodies were recovered from the Yemeni island of Socotra, which bore the brunt of the storm, according to local officials in both countries. More than 30 people were still missing in Socotra, including Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals.

Social media updates from residents of #Salalah, #Oman show the damage by #CycloneMekunu. Uprooted trees, intense winds, heavy rainfall, floods - Salalah is witnessing the worst of the #storm at the moment.#Mekunu_Cyclone #Mekunu #Hurricane pic.twitter.com/aN8rqd5Ab4 — StormTracker India (@StormTrackerIn) May 25, 2018 Yemeni officials also reported damage in the country’s far east, along the border with Oman. Rageh Bakrit, the governor of al-Mahra province, said on his official Twitter account late on Friday that strong winds had blown down houses and taken out communication lines and water services.

India’s Meteorological Department said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 170-180 kilometres (105-111 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 200 kph (124 mph). It called the cyclone “extremely severe”. Across Salalah, branches and leaves littered the streets. Several underpasses became standing lakes. Some cars were left abandoned on the road. Electrical workers began trying to repair lines in the city while police and soldiers in 4x4s patrolled the streets.

Many holidaymakers fled the storm on Thursday night before the airport closed. The Port of Salalah — a key gateway for the country — also closed, its cranes secured against the pounding rain. Omani forecasters warned Salalah and the surrounding area would get at least 200 millimetres (7.87 inches) of rain, over twice the city’s annual downfall.

Strengthening tropical cyclone #Mekunu in the Arabian Sea is expected to cause dangerous flooding in #Yemen and #Oman this weekend. Here's the latest infrared satellite imagery of the storm, from Meteosat-8. More: https://t.co/Ien7znHyPx pic.twitter.com/yTzOaaghBi — NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) May 23, 2018 Authorities remained worried about flash flooding in the area’s valleys and potential mudslides down nearby mountains.

As torrential rains poured down on Friday, authorities opened schools to shelter those whose homes are at risk. About 600 people, mostly labourers, huddled at the West Salalah School, some sleeping on mattresses on the floors of classrooms.

On Socotra, authorities relocated over 230 families to sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island’s mountains, Yemeni security officials said. Flash floods engulfed Socotra streets, cutting electricity and communication lines. Some humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived on the island just hours after the cyclone receded.

Socotra Gov Ramzy Mahrous said one ship sank and two others ran aground in the storm, initially saying authorities believed 17 people were missing and presumed dead. Yemen’s self-exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi issued a statement ordering troops under his command on the island to help citizens, deliver supplies and reopen roads.</s>SALALAH, Oman (AP) — Cyclone Mekunu blew into the Arabian Peninsula early Saturday, drenching arid Oman and Yemen, cutting off power lines and leaving at least five people dead and more than 30 missing, officials said.

Portions of Salalah, Oman's third-largest city, lost electricity as the cyclone made landfall. The Arabian Sea churned Saturday morning, sending mounds of sea foam into the air. The waves ate into one tourist beach, pulling hunks of it away and toppling thatch umbrellas cemented into the sand.

As Mekunu barreled overhead, the eye of the storm provided a moment's respite. At one luxury hotel, which already had evacuated its guests, workers sat down early for "suhoor," a meal Muslims eat before sunrise during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. They laughed and shared plates by flashlight in a darkened ballroom, the cyclone's wind a dull roar behind their clatter.

Three people, including a 12-year-old girl, died in Oman, and another two bodies were recovered from the Yemeni island of Socotra, which bore the brunt of the storm, according to local officials in both countries. More than 30 people were still missing in Socotra, including Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals.

Yemeni officials also reported damage in the country's far east, along the border with Oman. Rageh Bakrit, the governor of al-Mahra province, said on his official Twitter account late Friday that strong winds had blown down houses and taken out communication lines and water services. He did not say whether there were any casualties.

India's Meteorological Department said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 170-180 kilometers (105-111 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 200 kph (124 mph). It called the cyclone "extremely severe."

Across Salalah, branches and leaves littered the streets. Several underpasses became standing lakes. Some cars were left abandoned on the road. Electrical workers began trying to repair lines in the city while police and soldiers in SUVs patrolled the streets. On the outskirts of the city, near the Salalah International Airport, what once was a dry creek bed had become a raging river.

Many holidaymakers fled the storm Thursday night before the airport closed. The Port of Salalah — a key gateway for the country — also closed, its cranes secured against the pounding rain.

Omani forecasters warned Salalah and the surrounding area would get at least 200 millimeters (7.87 inches) of rain, over twice the city's annual downfall. Authorities remained worried about flash flooding in the area's valleys and potential mudslides down its nearby cloud-shrouded mountains.

A sizable police presence fanned out across the city, the hometown of Oman's longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Many officers rode in Royal Oman Police SUVs with chicken wire over the windows, likely because their other vehicles weren't tall enough to maneuver through the floodwater.

"Of course, for the citizen there is going to be a sense of fear of the consequences that can happen," said Brig. Gen. Mohsin bin Ahmed al-Abri, the commander of Dhofar governorate's police. "We have been through a few similar cases and there were losses in properties and also in human life as well. But one has to take precautions and work on that basis."

As torrential rains poured down on Friday, authorities opened schools to shelter those whose homes are at risk. About 600 people, mostly laborers, huddled at the West Salalah School, some sleeping on mattresses on the floors of classrooms, where math and English lesson posters hung on the walls.

Shahid Kazmi, a worker from Pakistan's Kashmir region, told The Associated Press that police moved him and others to the school. He said he was a bit scared adding: "God willing, we are safe here."

On Socotra, authorities relocated over 230 families to sturdier buildings and other areas, including those more inland and in the island's mountains, Yemeni security officials said.

Flash floods engulfed Socotra streets, cutting electricity and communication lines. Some humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates arrived on the island just hours after the cyclone receded.

Socotra Gov. Ramzy Mahrous said one ship sank and two others ran aground in the storm, initially saying authorities believed 17 people were missing and presumed dead.

Yemen's self-exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi issued a statement ordering troops under his command on the island to help citizens, deliver supplies and reopen roads.

The island, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, has been the focus of a dispute between the UAE and Yemen's internationally recognized government, which are ostensibly allied against Shiite rebels known as Houthis.

Socotra has a unique ecosystem and is home to rare plants, snails and reptiles that can be found nowhere else on the planet.

Associated Press writers Fay Abuelgasim in Salalah, Oman, Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, and Menna Zaki in Cairo contributed to this report.

His work can be found at http://apne.ws/2galNpz
Cyclone Mekunu makes landfall near Salalah, Oman, killing at least five people with 30 others reported missing. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), maximum sustained winds of 170–180 kilometres per hour (106–112 mph) have been recorded, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane. The storm is moving north toward Saudi Arabia.