Keila Cyclone - Storm and Rain bring flood in to the Desert Towns of Oman

Cyclonic Storm Keila is known as Cyclone Keila, is the first named cyclonic storm and the first storm to reach cyclone intensity of the 2011 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Keila developed from a low pressure area in the Arabian Sea that organized into a tropical depression on October 29. At least 14 people are known to have been killed in Oman and more than 200 have been injured. As a cyclonic storm, Keila produced torrential rains over Oman resulting in six direct deaths



While Keila was in its peak intensity on November 2, parts of Oman received torrential rainfall the same day. This caused widespread flooding in the country. It was also reported that 6 people were killed by the force of the floodwater in the Rustaq and Batinah regions. Traffic jams were reported throughout the affected areas

It is also reported that nine sailors are missing in the Arabian Sea when the Indian Ship MSV Shiv Sagar MNV 2169 sank as the storm passed over them. It is reported that Five bodies have been spotted on the surface of the sea and the coast guards are aiding in retrieving the bodies.

A total of 14 fatalities were reported in Oman, most of them caused by drowning. Police helicopters have evacuated about 60 patients from Al Nahdha and Khoula hospitals which have been closed for maintenance. The patients have been transferred to other hospitals.

Under the influence of a low-level trough, a low-pressure area formed over the Arabian Sea in late October. The system became more well marked as it organized itself. The India Meteorological Department, the RSMC of this basin, designated the system Depression "ARB 02" on October 29.

The depression moved toward the Middle East during the next few days and intensified into a Deep Depression on November 1. Favorable conditions in the Arabian Sea helped the storm intensify further and the IMD upgraded the storm into a Cyclonic Storm on November 2, naming it "Keila".

Keila soon struck the Oman coast to the south of Salalah. This resulted in widespread floods and 14 fatalities. Once moving inland, the storm weakened due to the influence of the landmass. It stalled and re-emerged into the ocean water again, but was not successful in intensifying. The storm dissipated into a low pressure area on November 4.

Storm Brings Catastrophic Floods into Desert Towns of Oman

A huge desert storm floods a town and spins cars down a road which has turned into a large river. This was filmed in Dar Seet. Huge storms periodically hit the region in the SE Arabian Peninsula.

Arabian sea underneath the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala India, the richest temple in the world

Lord Vishnu's avatar Padmanabahan is believed to be lying above the sea on a Huge Cobra snake with big head like umbrella. This form of diety of Vishnu is worshiped as Ananthashayanam. (Sleeping of God above the Snake Anantha)

 

Legend says there is a tunnel at the bottom of the chamber that leads to the sea or the Arabian Sea underneath the Chamber B which contains treasures. Recently the Supreme Court ordered that Not to Opening of the Chamber B, till a decision is taken by the Court . In old times during the rule of Kings, every Palace in India had secret passages for the Royal families to hide or escape from enemies.

 

The erstwhile royal family of Travancore who is maintaining the temple believes that opening chamber B would be a bad omen. A royal family source said many legends were attached to the temple and that chamber B has a model of a snake on the main door which makes it different from other secret cellars that were opened till now.

The Indian Economic Times reports:

The Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala could well be the richest in the country as unofficial estimates Saturday, the sixth day of preparing an inventory of treasures in its six chambers, suggested the value of its gold, diamond and other precious metals at close to Rs 1 lakh crore [$22 billion plus — esnl].
The inventory of the temple here, maintained by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, is being made by a seven-member Supreme Court-appointed panel.
The stock-taking process was ordered by the Supreme Court following a petition by advocate T.P. Sundararajan over mismanagement of the temple affairs.
On Monday, ahead of entering the temple chambers for the first time, the committee chairman, retired Kerala High Court judge M.N. Krishnan, said he hoped to finish the entire process by the end of the week.
The temple has a total of six chambers, named A to F by the committee. With chamber B yet to be opened and chamber A’s accounting ending Saturday, and two more chambers left unopened yet, it is expected that the inventory process may continue for a few more days.

As for that curse, here’s the scoop from ZeeNews, an Indian television broadcaster:

A legend has halted for now the stocktaking at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple where treasures said to be worth Rs 1 lakh crore have been found.
The erstwhile royal family of Travancore, which maintains the temple, believes that opening chamber B would be a bad omen. A royal family source said many legends were attached to the temple and that chamber B has a model of a snake on the main door.
“The door should not be opened because opening it might be a bad omen. I don’t think the team can open it because there is a lot of faith attached to the temple,” said the source.
Another legend says there is a tunnel at the bottom of the chamber that leads to the sea.

The treasure find is proving a nightmare for state police.

OneIndia News tells why:

The presence of huge drains in the periphery of the temple walls could pose risks to the treasure especially when its presence has been hyped and now confirmed.
Intelligence agencies are believed to have taken the matter seriously and is understood to have made sketches of the underground tunnels to better understand the challenges.
There are two drainage tunnels that is estimated to be two and half feet in length and breadth that exists near the temple. Any person can easily move in and out of the tunnel due to the sheer size of the drainage tunnel that is believed to be centuries old. The security fears are heightened since the drainage tunnel can be accessed from multiple points in the vicinity. Many of the access points that the drain has are only a mere 30 metres from the temple.
These facts coupled with fears of the presence of an access point within the temple premises poses a valid and serious threat to the safety of the royal assets. If the presence of such an access point is confirmed, it could be used by negative elements who wants to siphon the precious treasures that has been lying in complete oblivion for centuries.

More on the security woes from Kerala news site asianetindia.com:

The Kerala police have recommended a three-tier security system to safe-guard the newly discovered riches of the Padmanabhaswamy temple.
The proposals range from strengthening the cellar vaults using concrete, and installation of burglar alarms and perimeter protection devices that use laser beams.
The vaults used to store the riches according to the police should also be able to withstand explosions.