'Phet' caused heaviest rain in Arabian Sea: NASA study

More than 600 millimetres or 23.6 inches of rains occurred over the open waters of Arabian Sea, according to data sent by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, the US space agency said.TRMM is a "flying rain gauge" in space, and can provide rainfall estimates from its position in orbit around the Earth.

Data accumulated from TRMM enabled visualisers to create a map of rainfall generated by Cyclone Phet as it marched through the Arabian Sea from May 31 to June 6.While the heaviest rainfall occurred over open waters, the cyclone triggered very heavy rainfall over parts of Oman and Pakistan, NASA said.

"One area of northeast Oman received as much as 450 millimetres (17.7 inches), while Pakistan received between 150-300 millimetres (5.9-11.8 inches) as Phet made landfall there this past weekend," it said.

The tropical cyclone brought not just strong winds but also heavy rains to the Arabian Sea, the Arabian Peninsula, and the coast of Pakistan in late May and early June.Phet reached its greatest intensity off the coast of Oman on June 3. After making landfall in Oman, Phet dissipated somewhat, but remained organised enough to move back over the Arabian Sea toward Pakistan.

Meanwhile, flood-like situation prevailed in the drought-prone Jaislamer district of Rajasthan as torrential rains caused by the cyclone hit the region badly.According to officials, Jaisalmer received over 12 cm rains followed by Jodhpur and Barmer which received 3 cm and 2 cm respectively.