AFP reports that the UN weather agency expects "super cyclonic storm" named Chapala to make landfall early Monday morning in Yemen and Oman.
Authorities in Yemen and Oman are urging residents to evacuate coastal areas.
Yemen's meterological agency issued a special call for residents in the Hadramawt and Mohrah provinces to stay at least a kilometer away from the shore. Ports and coastal airports in Yemen are urged to halt activity before the cyclone hits.
Yemen is already facing widespread damage from the ongoing political conflict, and Chapala is expected to cause more destruction.
Oman has preemptively closed schools on Sunday and Monday in the Dhofar province. Medical and diving teams have arrived in advance of the anticipated damage, to speed recovery.
AFP further reports that satellite images have shown that Chapala was approaching the shores with wind speeds between 220 and 250 kilometers (136 and 155 miles) per hour, ONA state news agency said.
WMO said that Chapala’s wind speed was the equivalent of a category four hurricane.
