List of Arabian Peninsula tropical cyclones

TheArabian Peninsulais apeninsulabetween theRed Sea, theArabian Sea, and thePersian Gulf. There are 64 knowntropical cyclonesthat affected the peninsula, primarilyYemenandOman. For convenience, storms are included that affected the Yemeni island ofSocotra. Most of the tropical cyclones originated in the Arabian Sea, the portion of theIndian Oceannorth of the equator and west ofIndia. The remainder formed in theBay of Bengaloff India's east coast. Collectively, the 64 storms have caused at leastUS$8.3 billion in damage and 1,693 deaths. The strongest and most damaging cyclone wasCyclone Gonu, which causedUS$4 billion in damage and 50 fatalities when it struck Oman in 2007. Tropical cyclone damage in the Arabian Peninsula is chiefly due to flooding.
Within theIndian Oceannorth of theequator,tropical cyclonesare tracked by theIndia Meteorological Department(IMD), which is the officially designatedRegional Specialized Meteorological Centerfor the region.The American-basedJoint Typhoon Warning Center(JTWC) also tracks storms in the basin on an unofficial basis.TheArabian Sea, which borders the Arabian Peninsula, typically spawns tropical cyclones in the southeastern portion of the body of water, offshore of western India.About 48.5% of cyclones dissipate without makinglandfall, or moving ashore,and around one in three storms move toward the Arabian Peninsula.However, storms do not form in the western Arabian Sea because of coolsea surface temperatures(the result of strong winds from themonsoon),as well as dry air from the Arabian Peninsula.
The sultanate of Oman, located on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, regularly receives the impacts of tropical cyclones due to its long coastline along the Arabian Sea.On average, storms strike Oman once every three years, mostly betweenMasirah IslandandSalalah, and usually before the June or after October.From 1943 to 1967, tropical cyclones accounted for about 25% of Salalah's overall rainfall.About once every five years, a storm affects theDhofar regionof southern Oman.In addition, storm intensities at landfall have only been accurately known since around 1979,and reliable record keeping began around 1970. In 2014, an archaeology team discovered evidence that a major flood affectedRas Al Haddin eastern Oman, possibly the result of a tsunami or a severe storm.
Oman's most damaging storm wasCyclone Gonuin 2007, which was the strongest recorded storm in the Arabian Sea and the strongest to make landfall on the landmass.Gonu left US$4 billion in damage and killed 50 people, making it the worst natural disaster on record in Oman.In 2010, a slightly weaker cyclone namedPhetcaused US$780 million in damage and 24 deaths while crossing eastern Oman.Cyclonic Storm Keilain the subsequent year killed 19 people while looping near Oman's southern coastline,and left US$80 million in damage.In 1890, a storm killed 757 people when it flooded much of Oman's capital.A storm in 1959 caused a shipwreck near southern Oman, resulting in the loss of all 141 crewmembers.Another storm-related shipwreck killed 18 people in December 1998.In June 1977, astormstruck Masirah Island, causing 105 deaths and becoming Oman's worst natural disaster in the 20th century.Astorm in 2002that killed nine and caused US$25 million in damage.Cyclone Nilofarin 2014 killed four people from its outer rainbands.
Although storms rarely strike Yemen,back-to-back cyclonesChapalaandMeghhit the country one week apart in November 2015.The country has two recorded landfalls bysevere cyclonic storms– tropical cyclones with winds of at least 89 km/h (55 mph). The first was a storm in May 1960, and the other was Cyclone Chapala in 2015, the latter being the second-strongest cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea.Chapala earlier struck the Yemeni offshore island of Socotra, which was also hit by Cyclone Megh less than a week later.The two storms collectively killed 26 people in Yemen.The country's worst natural disaster on record was from a1996 storm that earlier hit Oman,causing severe flooding that caused US$1.2 billion in damage and 338 deaths.The second worst natural disaster in Yemen was from aweak depressionin 2008 that killed 180 people and caused US$874.8 million in damage.More recently,Cyclone Sagarkilled a woman when her house caught fire due to the storm.
Elsewhere on the peninsula, Cyclone Gonu's waves damaged the port inFujairah,United Arab Emirates.In 1995 and again in 1996, the remnants of a storm that hit Oman enteredRub' al Khali, or the Empty Quarter, of Saudi Arabia.In 2008, the remnants of a storm that hit Yemen brought rainfall and dust storms to Saudi Arabia and Iraq.