Oman has begun clearing up after it was lashed by Cyclone Gonu, which killed up to 28 people and seriously damaged the Gulf state's infrastructure. Twenty-six people were also reported missing.
The fiercest storm to hit the region for 30 years forced thousands of people from their homes and left a trail of destruction along the east coast of a country unaccustomed to such violent weather.
A police spokesman, who had earlier given a toll of 20 dead, said that half of those killed had drowned in flooding caused by torrential rain and that police and army helicopters were searching for the missing.
In the capital Muscat, heavy-duty ploughs, dumper trucks and diggers began the mammoth task of clearing roads of the thick mud and debris deposited at the height of the storm.
The popular Al Qurm commercial district, with its upmarket shops and cafes, was particularly badly hit.
"I have this feeling of such terrible loss and sadness," said 53-year-old Ahmed Melay.
His staff at the Lebanese restaurant he part owns - including waiters and cooks - worked in the main dining area with shovels to clear mounds of mud that had surged inside through smashed windows.
Melay estimated the damage would cost $US100,000 ($119,054) to repair.
There were similiar sights all across the district, which was heavily patrolled by police to deter potential looters.
One employee of a government-run craft centre carefully moved expensive pots and carpets from the battered shop into an off-road vehicle.
"I've never experienced anything like this," said Faraj al-Hamdani, 25, his face flecked with mud.
Farther down the road, a department store stocking luxury goods had an electricity pole jutting from its main display window.
Several cars with broken windscreens sat at crooked angles in what was once the store's car park.
By the city's waterfront, residents of usually sunny Muscat inspected objects that had been swept ashore overnight. These included a television and a car seat.
Badr al-Abdali, a 26-year-old Omani accountant, took snapshots of the beach and the still choppy waves with his mobile phone.
Like many Muscat residents he spent the previous day indoors riding out the storm and was now curious to see its aftermath.
"This is the first time I've seen anything like this," Abdali said. "I feel much like everyone else in that I was frightened and excited about the storm at the same time."
State TV reported that the government had ordered food shops to reopen as soon as possible and that work was under way to restore power to remote areas.
Gonu also killed three people in Iran, where tens of thousands of people hunkered down in shelters, and officials said more than 40,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas in southern provinces to higher ground.
The cyclone initially packed winds of 260 kmh an hour and was the strongest to lash the Arabian peninsula since 1977
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