Rare tropical cyclone batters Yemen

Heavy flooding from a rare tropical cyclone appeared to inundate southern Yemen on Tuesday, bringing what aid workers and residents fear will be yet more misery to a country already mired in war and humanitarian crisis.

Packing winds of more than 100kmh, Cyclone Chapala made landfall in the south-eastern provinces of Hadramawt and Shabwa, said Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kafain yesterday.

An island of natural beauty, Socotra is home to hundreds of plant species not found anywhere else.

The World Health Organization said it had delivered trauma kits for 1,000 patients in Mukalla, which has been controlled by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula since April, and was providing fuel for hospitals and ambulances, according to BBC News on MSN.

An Al-Qaida militant on Twitter prayed for deliverance from the storm and said that a USA pilotless drone was flying especially low over the city, where the militant group’s deputy leader was killed in an airstrike in June.

Cars were half-submerged in muddy water while seafront roads were badly damaged by high waves.

Tropical Cyclone Chapala slammed into Yemen’s central coast early Tuesday, lashing the area with maximum sustained winds of around 140 kph (85 mph).

The UN Office for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), said Chapala originated in the Indian Ocean on 28 October and intensified during the following days to category 4.

Neighbouring Oman downgraded its state of alert, saying the cyclone had moved westwards and would not directly hit the sultanate.

A cargo plane carrying 20 tonnes of essential supplies such as food, medicine, blankets, tents and clothing has been dispatched to help people affected by the hurricane, as part of large-scale humanitarian efforts being carried out by the ERC across Yemen.

About 10 million children are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, the United Nations warned last month.