SANNA, Yemen (AP) — A tropical storm has ravaged large areas of Yemen's eastern al-Mahra province, with three days of heavy rainfall and flooding injuring dozens, destroying property and killing livestock, Yemeni officials and the United Nations said Tuesday.
They said that around 70 percent of the province has been affected by the storm, cyclone Luban that was downgraded to a tropical storm. Two aircraft, one Yemeni and the other from the United Arab Emirates, are ferrying to safety residents stranded in the provincial capital, Gheita.
Amin Hassan, a member of the provincial rescue committee, said hundreds of homes have either been destroyed or damaged and thousands of livestock have drowned after they were swept away by flooding in al-Mahra.
Thousands headed to the mountains to escape the flooding. Power outages hit some areas.
The United Nations said 33 people have been injured in al-Mahra and that a total of 2,000 families have been affected by the storm. It said coastal areas of the province were the hardest hit.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, added that humanitarian partners are already helping on the ground, but gave no details.
A Yemeni governor earlier called for help to evacuate some 50 families stuck amid flooding, strong storms, and heavy rain in the area, describing the situation as "disastrous" and saying the families need an airlift rescue.
