Local sources and residents reported that seven people drowned in the governorates of Shabwa and Al-Mahrah in eastern Yemen on Wednesday, due to flash floods and heavy rains caused by a low-pressure system in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Sources and residents in Shabwa governorate stated that three women and two children drowned due to the floods in the town of Bayhan, northern Shabwa, which also caused significant damage to public and private property and agricultural lands.
Moreover, two others died as a result of the heavy rains and floods that hit Al-Mahrah governorate in the far east of the country, bordering Oman. In oil-rich Hadramout governorate, local sources indicated that heavy rains inundated various areas of the vast valleys and deserts of Hadramout, causing roadblocks and significant material damage to property and agricultural land.
The sources noted that helicopters from the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened to evacuate those stranded in Seiyun, the largest city in the eastern governorate. Sources in Abyan governorate reported that the floods trapped dozens of vehicles in Wadi Ahor, completely cutting off traffic on the international coastal road linking Aden and Mukalla in Hadramout.
Several mountainous and coastal governorates in Yemen are currently facing a new low-pressure system accompanied by heavy rains, thunderstorms, and strong winds that have caused severe damage to infrastructure and properties, obstructing main roads, particularly in the governorates of Shabwa, Hadramout, Al-Mahrah, Abyan, and Lahij.
Residents in southern Lahij governorate indicated that the heavy rains and floods that hit the Al-‘Ain area on Wednesday caused significant damage to shops and residents' homes. Meteorological centers had warned days ago of unstable weather conditions in a number of Yemeni governorates, both to the north and south. The National Center for Meteorology in Yemen predicted on Tuesday the continuation and intensification of instability in large areas of the country, particularly in mountainous regions and coastal plains, during the coming weeks.
