Southern Yemen lashed by tropical storm by Alex Deakin
A tropical storm hit southern Yemen on Thursday, bringing two days of torrential rain, flash floods and mudslides.
At least 40 people are reported to have been killed and many more are missing. Over 500 houses have been destroyed as floods swept through the southeastern provinces of Hadramaut and Mahara over the past two days.
The damage has been particularly extensive because many buildings in urban areas are mud-built houses, and therefore unable to stand up to heavy rains and flooding.
The storm first formed in the Indian Ocean earlier this week, then headed west towards the horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden before turning north towards Yemen. The storm had weakened to a tropical depression by the time it hit the coast.
It is fairly rare for tropical storms to make landfall in Yemen, and for much of the country rainfall is sparse. The Hadramaut province typically receives only around 4 inches of rain per year.
