KUWAIT CITY, Jun 16, 2009 (AFP) - A blinding dust storm hit Kuwait on Tuesday, forcing a halt in oil exports and closure of the Gulf emirate's three ports as well as disrupting air traffic, officials said.
Winds of up to 80 kilometres an hour (50 mph) reduced visibility to less than 150 metres (yards) at Kuwait airport and to almost zero at ports.
A spokesman for Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) said oil exports were completely halted and would resume when weather conditions improve.
OPEC's fourth-largest producer pumps around 2.2 million barrels of crude oil daily through KNPC export facilities in oil-rich southern Kuwait.
Issam al-Zamel, head of operations at the civil aviation authority, told the official KUNA news agency that a number of aircraft scheduled to land in Kuwait were being diverted to neighbouring Gulf countries.
Kuwait has had virtually no rain for the third winter in a row, making the desert sand loose and easily carried aloft by strong northwesterly winds.
Dust storms are rare in winter but common in summer when the temperature hits 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
1 comment:
Sounds terrible! I hope you are alright!!
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