In sharp contrast to the coastline, the desert received a few 'smaller' meteorites, though calling them 'small' was still an understatement.
Imagine rocks the size of an elephant falling down at speeds much faster than the speed of sound.
By the time people heard the sounds of explosion, damage had already been done.
The ground jumped on impact, and the sand rose in a perfect ring, creating a moving wall of hot sand with the impact at its epicenter. Whatever this hit directly was disintegrated or, at best, burned.
There were various settlements in the desert, specifically in oases. Though there were no meteorites that landed directly at them, one did land close by. Now, this settlement was covered with a meter-deep layer of sand, and the blast hit everyone who was outside.
