Impact
The flooding was preceded by several days of rain starting on October 23, as the remnants of a tropical cyclone moved over the area. Rain continued, with weather systems coming in from neighbouring Saudi Arabia and southern Somalia, resulting in severe flooding in some areas of Yemen.
Thousands of families fled Hadhramaut alone; many schools were used as evacuee shelters, but these could only accommodate 10% of the affected. According to search and rescue teams, the number of fatalities may increase due to the likelihood of people trapped in flooded houses. Electricity and telephone lines were disrupted, and many homes were damaged.
Survivors were seen signalling to rescue helicopters in Hadramout and Mahra, which had seen at least 30 hours of heavy rain. A Yemeni official was quoted as saying, "About 7,000 people have been made homeless and there are about 100 dead or missing."
Along with fatalities, approximately 730 homes were destroyed, along with businesses and other infrastructure projects. The severe thunder of the preceding thunderstorms resulted in at least nine deaths from lightning in the Al Mahrah, Ta'izz and Lahij governorates. The rain also destroyed large amounts of farmland and killed large numbers of livestock.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Yemen Cyclone
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