Killer storm 'Phet', which hit Oman with cyclonic force, turned its fury on Pakistan, leaving more death and destruction in the Sindh Province. As Phet, spawned in the Arabian Sea, made landfall in coastal Sindh Sunday night, its outer edges unleashed heavy storms around Karachi, the provincial capital and Pakistan's largest city and main port. A provincial official told CNN seven people were electrocuted. Other details were not immediately available. Pakistani helicopters alerted fishermen near Karachi and parts of Balochistan about the approaching storm. But Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported two boats with 15 fishermen had yet to return to port. The Times of London reported tens of thousands of people were forced to leave coastal villages in Sindh as the storm approached. Authorities had earlier evacuated more than 60,000 people from the coastal areas. Pakistan's chief meteorologist, Mohammad Riaz, said the storm could move further east toward India. In Karachi, hospitals remained on alert and stockpiled essential items and medicine as the storm threatened to disrupt power and communications with torrential rains. In Oman, Phet dumped up to 10 inches of rain, flooding the capital Muscat and lashing it with very high winds, CNN reported. Phet killed at least 16 people in the past two days in Oman, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local media. Rains had stopped in Muscat Monday and life was said to be returning to normal. Omani officials said the sultanate's air force helicopters searched for missing people and were available to rescue those trapped in flooding, especially in the eastern parts. A dam under construction in Oman was reported to be badly damaged by the storm. The Press Trust of India (PTI) put the death toll in Oman at 24. That included a meteorological department official, who was swept away by the high currents in Muscat. In Pakistan, weather experts told the News International the storm made landfall Sunday night in Sindh's coastal areas of Badin and Thatta districts, bringing heavy flooding in those areas. The storm was expected to weaken into a depression in the next 12 hours but heavy rains and high winds were in the forecast for the next 24 hours in the region that included Karachi, the United Press International (UPI) reported.
