Article Type : Review Article
Authors : Jamal Hamdan Al-Azki
Keywords : Social work; Cyclone; Tropical storms; Natural disasters; Sultanate of Oman
On
the eleventh of June 2022, the seventeenth edition of The Global Risks Report,
issued by the World Economic Forum, was released on the risks that threaten the
global economy in 2022. According to the report, the climate issue remains the
issue that constitutes the greatest concern in the long term. This is because
the health of the planet during the coming decades will be the dominant and
greatest concern, according to the experts who participated in the survey.
Social work plays an important role in responding to natural disasters because
of its vital role in addressing differences in access to resources, including
health care and financial assistance. Social workers also play an important
role in public health during disasters by disseminating reliable information
about safety, resources, and opportunities to help others. In addition to
psychological support services, listening and sympathy provided to the
afflicted and the families of the victims. Therefore, this article will try to
clarify the most important cyclones and tropical cases that the Sultanate of
Oman has been exposed to in recent years, while highlighting the roles of
social workers in dealing with the effects of natural disasters in the
Sultanate of Oman.
Natural disasters are one of the aspects of climate
change that strikes the world, as the last century and the beginning of the
current century witnessed a group of natural disasters that caused great damage
to the infrastructure of countries, and loss of lives, and the location of the
Sultanate of Oman overlooking water bodies such as the Arabian Sea and the
Indian Ocean is one of the influencing factors in exposure to some natural
disasters associated with climate change such as cyclones. This shows the
importance of the role of social work in social support in times of crises and
disasters due to the importance of its developmental content in addition to its
therapeutic and preventive sides, as these are multi-entry mechanisms and
programs aimed at solving problems at the individual and collective level in
order to provide a state of health, economic, or psychological security, or The
family is a result of the complexity of the state of security for human society
as an inevitable consequence of its exposure to disasters and crises [1].
The Sultanate of Oman has been exposed to a group of
cyclones and tropical storms over time, among which we mention the following:
1. Cyclone Gonu
in June 2007: the Sultanate of Oman was exposed to a fifth-degree tropical
cyclone, which mainly affected the governorates of Muscat, south Al Sharqiyah
and south Al Batinah. Heavy rains fell, accompanied by strong winds, and the
wave level rose to 12 meters, with winds speeding between 212 to 260 km / h.
According to the data issued by the Executive Office of the Civil Defence
Committee, the cyclone caused around 49 deaths, about 25,500 homes were
affected, and the total losses of Cyclone Gonu, according to estimates by the
Omani Ministry of Economy, were estimated at about one and a half billion Omani
riyals, approximately $4 billion [2].
2. Cyclone Phet
2010: Cyclone Phet in June 2010, the Sultanate of Oman was affected by
another cyclone known as Cyclone Phet, which affected the North and South Al
Sharqiyah governorates, and was classified as a second-degree cyclone. Where
the cyclone caused human losses amounting to seventeen deaths and the loss of
two people, it caused moderate damage to public and private property in the states
of the Governorate of Muscat and the states of the South Governorate [3].
3. Tropical
storm Kela 2011: which affected Dhofar Governorate in 2011 and lasted for
about two days, leaving 10 deaths and damage to public facilities.
4. Tropical
storm Nilufer 2014: which affected Masirah Island and some of the Omani
coasts in 2014.
5. Tropical
storm Ashoba 2015: In the following year, almost the same areas were
affected by another tropical storm, known as (Ashuba). Which flooded many roads
and residential neighborhoods on Masirah Island.
6. Cyclone
Mekunu 2018: Cyclone Mekunu The cyclone hit the southern coasts of the
Sultanate of Oman, specifically the coasts of Dhofar Governorate. The coasts of
Al Wusta Governorate were also affected by the clouds accompanying the cyclone
and witnessed the recording of high amount of rain, in May of the year 2108.
The governorate’s states witnessed very heavy rains amounting to the maximum
amount was in the Wilayat of Mirbat, with historical amounts of 1055 mm. The
cyclone also left four deaths, in addition to damaging the infrastructure such
as streets, communication networks and water, in addition to material losses
for individuals such as farms, homes and cars.
7. Cyclone
Hikaa 2019: From a tropical storm to a second-degree tropical cyclone in
just 24 hours, this is how the tropical state of Hikaa developed in the Arabian
Sea on September 24 of the year 2019, to move quickly towards the southern
coasts of the Sultanate of Oman, accompanied by strong winds Carrying large
amounts of rain, the highest wind speed reached 130 km/h, while the highest
gust of wind reached 150 km/h, and the lowest value of atmospheric pressure
amounted to 978 millibars. And it carried with it large quantities of rain,
which reached 119 mm in the Wilayat of Duqm.
8. Cyclone
Shaheen: Severe Cyclonic Storm Gulab-Shaheen 2021l This cyclone is one of
the rare cyclones that affects the northern governorates of the Sultanate of
Oman, as the governorates of North and South Al Batinah were affected by it,
specifically the states of Al Suwaiq, Al Khaboura and Saham, and its path was
rarely in transit. The Sea of Oman, as no tropical state has ever taken this
path before, except in 1890. It is expected that the losses of this cyclone
will exceed more than one billion Omani riyals.
Social work has a long history in dealing with
disasters and crises, as it is one of the professions that cares about all
those relationships that result from the problems of mutual adaptation between
the individual and his environment, and the contribution of social workers in
this field is wide for social relations through their experiences in working
with people and their knowledge of the resources of the local community and
their ability to mobilize resources to deal with its needs. The social work
profession works side by side with government agencies when dealing with
disasters, as government agencies mobilize their capabilities to deal with them
through the preventive side in preparing roads and drainage outlets, and
therapeutic in mitigating the effects of these cyclones, in addition to
providing monitoring and early warning services, Media and public awareness,
search and rescue, relief and shelter, medical and public health response,
basic services, response to hazardous materials incidents, and the affairs of
victims and missing persons (the official portal of e-government services,
2018) [4]. Social workers play an important role in disaster risk reduction and
management for many reasons. First, the consequences of crises and disasters in
social work appear in the daily tasks of social workers, as disasters more
severely affect vulnerable groups, who were often already clients of social
work before. Second: Social workers not only alleviate the living conditions of
vulnerable groups, but also strengthen social capital and the resilience of
individuals and communities. Third: Social workers have tangible service links,
for example, with rescue and police services in search and rescue, damage
assessment, and emergency communications, evacuation and referral, as these
response services deal with the needs of victims in disaster situations.
Fourth, because social workers do most of their work at the local level, they
must be well connected with other local actors in disaster management. This is
because organizations, groups and individuals at the community level are always
the first to act in disaster situations and bear most of the burden of disaster
response, a role played by the social work profession at the largest level or
what is termed as the way the community is organized [5].
The study referred to a set of proposals that may increase the effectiveness of the role of social workers in dealing with the effects of natural disasters, based on the results of the study [6-7].