At 270 km/h, Cyclone Gonu was this region’s strongest-ever storm
Only a handful of intense storms have ever been recorded in this part of the world
Cyclone Gonu caused billions of dollars in damage when it brought tremendous flooding to portions of Oman in June 2007.
This was the strongest storm ever recorded in the Arabian Sea, a region that isn’t typically supportive of strong tropical cyclones.
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A scale-topping behemoth threatens the Arabian Peninsula
A tropical disturbance in the Arabian Sea rapidly intensified in the opening days of June 2007.
The system, Cyclone Gonu, strengthened from the equivalent of a Category 1 storm to a scale-topping Category 5 over the course of just 30 hours.
By midday on June 4, the storm peaked with maximum sustained winds of 270 km/h, making it the strongest tropical cyclone ever observed in the Arabian Sea.
Cyclones are already rare in this part of the world. Records show that only 96 hurricane-strength cyclones have formed in the Arabian Sea since the late 1870s. Only 18 of those storms strengthened into the equivalent of a major hurricane with Category 3 winds or stronger.
Several days after peaking in strength, a weaker Gonu grazed the coast of Oman with widespread and destructive flooding.
Rainfall totals of 200-400+ mm fell across eastern Oman. For context, the country’s capital of Muscat averages around 73 mm of rain in an entire year. A significant storm surge also accompanied the storm as its core affected land, further exacerbating the damage.