Local sources and residents reported that a lightning strike killed three people and injured three others in the town of Jihaf in Al-Dhale'e Governorate in southern Yemen on Friday. The sources clarified that the lightning occurred in the Thamad mountain area while a group of individuals was on a sightseeing trip, noting that the conditions of the three injured were serious.
Most mountainous and coastal provinces in Yemen experience heavy rains, thunderstorms, and strong winds during the rainy season, which starts in April and continues until August, causing significant damage to infrastructure and property, especially in the provinces of Sana'a, Al-Dhale'e, Dhamar, Ibb, Shabwa, Hadramaut, Al-Mahrah, Abyan, and Lahij.
In July, 21 individuals, including children and women, and seven girls from a single family, drowned in the provinces of Shabwa, Al-Mahrah, and Abyan in southern and eastern Yemen due to flash floods and heavy rainfall caused by a low-pressure system in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Meteorological centers have warned of severe weather conditions in several Yemeni provinces in both the south and north. United Nations spokesperson Stefan Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday evening that heavy rains and floods had affected at least 28,000 people in Yemen, according to preliminary estimates, causing damage to infrastructure, homes, and shelters at a time when increasing COVID-19 infection rates threaten to push the country into a third wave.
