In the middle of an eerily silent night, Verum had a familiar strange dream. She dreamt that the Bruha had placed her atop a swirling hurricane. And Verum sprinted to keep up with it. She felt like a hamster on a wheel!
Just when Verum was about to grow whiskers in her dream, she woke up. Her crystal ball was making a familiar humming noise. It was time to world-gaze! Rubbing her eyes, Verum approached the crystal ball. She muttered, “Not this dream again… but does it mean what I think it means?”
Verum’s trusty crystal ball was ready with news from the Middle East. She said, “I was right! It’s news about the tropical cyclone Shaheen that hit Iran and Oman in the Middle East.”
“What? Another cyclone?” said Scorch, rubbing her sleepy eyes, “Was it a strong one, Verum?”
“Not quite. It was a Category 1 storm but it weakened further just before making landfall on Sunday,” said Verum, “But it caused flooding and landslides, which led to the loss of at least 13 lives in both countries. Along with this, roads and electrical facilities were also damaged. Oman declared two days holiday.”
Verum added, “The strange thing is that Cyclone Shaheen brought extremely heavy rainfall and flash flooding to a desert climate. In some places, a year’s worth of rainfall showered down within a day.”
“That’s interesting,” said Scorch, stifling a yawn.
“Whoa,” exclaimed Verum, “Cyclone Shaheen was initially Cyclone Gulab. It originated in a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal on the eastern coast of India. On 26th September, it made landfall, impacting the coastal regions of northern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha. Even as it weakened by 28th September, it traveled across the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra.”
“What happened then?” said Scorch.
“When it reached the Arabian Sea on the western coast of India, it strengthened into a cyclonic storm once again. It was called Shaheen,” said Verum, “From there, it became stronger and stronger as it entered the Gulf of Oman.”
“Are you saying the same cyclone occurred twice?” said Scorch, “That’s unusual.”