Yemen floods kill nearly 100 and damage scores of homes
August 31, 2024
Devastating floods caused by heavy rain in Yemen have killed at least 97 people over the past month, according to a United Nations body.
Local rescue teams have been trying to reach areas affected by the rains and made worse by three dam bursts, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
The UN refugee agency said in its latest update Friday that flooding in the western Malhan district has impacted more than 56,000 homes and displaced over 1,000 families.
The hardest-hit areas include Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Al-Taweela and Marib.
Impassable roads were isolating affected areas and hampering rescue efforts.
Over 33,000 families throughout the country have been impacted by the floods since the monsoon season began in mid-July.
The UN body warned that the catastrophe was compounding Yemen's ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Yemen's ongoing humanitarian crisis is one of the worst in the world
Nearly a decade of war in Yemen has displaced over 4.5 million people internally or 14% of the population, UNHCR said.
The UN describes the prolonged crisis in the country as "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises," with 85% of affected households, with many of them living in formal and informal sites for internally displaced people, unable to meet their daily food needs.
The civil war between Yemen's internationally recognized government and Houthi militant forces has decimated critical infrastructure and healthcare.
Plus, climate change has also increased the frequency and intensity of rainfall in Yemeni highlands — much of which is controlled by Houthi rebels.
"This disaster, layered on top of Yemen's ongoing crisis, has compounded the suffering of millions," UNHCR said.
"Vital infrastructure has been obliterated, shelters washed away, and farmlands submerged. Unexploded ordnance unearthed by the floods poses additional threats to civilians and humanitarian workers," it wrote.
"The world cannot afford to overlook Yemen's crisis any longer," it added.
mk/rm (Reuters, AFP, AP)