Storm aftermath: coral reefs are severely damaged

Yesterday we took a trip along the east coast: Dibba, Khorfakkan, Fujairah. They've been hit by a storm pretty badly. Not as bad as our neighbours, but still, very seriously. It is not about people or buildings, it is a small thing that very few people notice these days: corals.

90% of coral reefs in most popular dive sites are gone. Torn off, thrashed and washed ashore by the storm. A bottom at Martini Rock, Snoopy island, Dibba Rock, small reef between Dibba and Zighi beach all bare rocks now. Most of the beaches covered by thick layer of broken coral.

Dive instructor Margaret at Maku dive centre says there are very few corals left. Lobsters, Moray eels and other fish who usually used to fined a refuge in coral branches are swimming frantically across the waters in search of vacant holes. Even sharks seem sort of disoriented by a total change in a bottom profile.

I do not like to use big words in such circumstances, but this is a serious ecologic catastrophe for the area.