In a village in Yemen, monsoon floods have led to 13 deaths

On August 28, 2024, Yemeni authorities said that rescuers in the north found the bodies of 13 missing people after flash floods inundated a village. Since the start of seasonal heavy rains, 99 people have been killed in floods.

The current monsoon season in Yemen is extremely deadly. Experts point out that this war-torn country is increasingly vulnerable to severe weather events caused by climate change. Al-Masirah TV, operated by the Houthi rebels, said that 13 bodies were found in the Merhan district of al-Mahwit governorate. One child was rescued and 20 people are still missing.

Before the civil war broke out in 2014, Yemen was already the poorest Arab country. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels control the capital Sanaa and most of the north, forcing the government to flee to the south and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthi rebels stated that since the monsoon season began in mid-July, 86 people have been killed by floods in the governorates of Hodeidah, Rimah and Hajjah, and about 33,000 families have been affected by floods.

The Yemeni Red Crescent had predicted that overall precipitation would decrease this year, but flood events during the monsoon season would be more severe. The World Health Organization said this week that Yemen is particularly affected by climate change due to damaged capacity, limited resources and fragile infrastructure, and warned that there will be more heavy rains in the coming weeks.

Due to the conflict, it is very difficult to determine the true casualties of the floods. In March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition joined the war with US support in an attempt to restore the internationally recognized government. This war has killed more than 150,000 people, including civilians and combatants, and is at a stalemate, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.