Torrential rainfalls have caused floods in war-torn Yemen, killing at least 60 people since July, while 13 others are still missing, and a total of 268,000 people have been affected, the United Nations said on Monday. Torrential rainfall has been affecting Yemen almost every year, causing intensive floods, and the climate crisis is enhancing the frequency and precipitation intensity, adding to woes already exacerbated by an almost decade-long war.
Since July, flash floods have killed 36 in the province of Hodeida, nine in the province of Ibb, eight in Marib, and seven in Taiz, according to the Monday report by the UN humanitarian agency OCHA. Public infrastructure, including schools, roads, and health facilities, have been affected. Livelihoods that were already hanging by a thread have been swept away,” OCHA said. It added that at least 600 were injured as a result of the Hodeida and Marib flooding. It added that a total of 13 people were still missing in Hodeida and Taiz.
It added that 38,285 families — nearly 268,000 people — have been affected, saying “severe weather is expected to persist into September, with additional alerts for heavy rainfall”. The University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative ranks Yemen as one of the region’s most climate-vulnerable countries.
The nation has had to go through severe flooding in 2019, 2020, and 2021 alone, according to the report, a war broke out in Yemen nearly a decade ago, after Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting the internationally recognized government to flee south to the city of Aden. The conflict has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with insecurity and logistical problems hampering aid deliveries. As recently as last week, the UN alert came that $4.9 million was urgently needed to scale up the emergency response to Yemen’s extreme weather conditions.
