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Cyclone Chapala dumps a decade worth of rain on Yemen causing major flooding
November 2015 – YEMEN – The
coast of Yemen, an area unaccustomed to dealing with the devastation of
tropical systems, has taken a direct hit from the powerful and
dangerous Cyclone Chapala. As Chapala made landfall Tuesday, it dumped
enormous amounts of rainfall on the arid coast – as much as a decade’s
worth, according to some forecasts. This caused major flooding and
swamped entire towns. Relief Web reported Tuesday that the cyclone has
already caused severe flooding in the country’s fifth-largest city,
Mukalla, with 25 reported injuries. Initial reports suggest that more
than 12,750 people have left their homes in coastal areas of Hadramaut
governorate. At least 90 homes have reportedly been damaged or
destroyed.
“The wind knocked out power completely
in the city and people were terrified. Some residents had to leave their
homes and escape to higher areas where flooding was less; it was a
difficult night but it passed off peacefully,” Mukalla resident Sabri
Saleem told Reuters. There have been no confirmed injuries in Mukalla so
far, the report added. Chapala weakened to a tropical storm late
Tuesday night, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in its routine
monthly Desert Locust Bulletin issued Tuesday, said heavy rains from
Cyclone Chapala “are likely to result in favorable ecological
conditions” for the growth of desert locusts in the central part of the
country. The bulletin warned those conditions “could last well into next
spring.”
Before hitting the mainland, Chapala
sideswiped the Yemeni island of Socotra on Sunday. At least three people
were killed and more than 200 were injured on Socotra, according to
Emirates 24/7. There was also a huge loss of property on the island, the
report added. An estimated 20,000 people were reportedly evacuated from
coastal areas and close to 400 houses were damaged or destroyed, Relief
Web reported. “The damage is enormous and we fear human losses,”
Socotra Island Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kafain told Emirates 24/7.
Locals sought shelter in government buildings and schools, as high water
levels flooded numerous streets in Hadibo. It is likely that a
combination of heavy rainfall and storm surge caused the flooding. –Weather
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