51 inches of water in some areas of Mukalla. That's 1.3 meters
Even Qatari-owned al-Jazeera is giving this scant attention
Deadly
cyclone triggers heavy flooding in Yemen
Mukala is pictured under water after the Chapala cyclone struck the coast of Yemen (Twitter @ionacraig)
3
November, 2015
A
rare tropical cyclone has slammed into Yemen, triggering heavy
flooding and causing damage in a region of the war-racked country.
Packing
winds of more than 100 km/h, Cyclone Chapala made landfall in the
southeastern provinces of Hadramawt and Shabwa, Minister of Fisheries
Fahd Kafain told the AFP news agency.
"The
damage is enormous," said the minister on Tuesday, part of a
commission set up to deal with the cyclone that brewed in the Arabian
Sea.
The
World Health Organisation said that it had delivered trauma kits for
1,000 patients in Mukalla and was providing fuel for hospitals and
ambulances.
It
said Hadramawt and Shabwa had a combined population of about 1.8
million people, including more than 100,000 internally displaced and
27,000 refugees.
The
storm earlier wreaked havoc on the island of Socotra, located 350km
off the Yemeni mainland.
Three
people were killed, more than 200 injured, and dozens of houses and
hamlets severely damaged or washed way.
'City
drowns'
Images
posted on social media showed heavy floods hitting the streets of
Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, bringing further misery
to Yemenis already beset by poverty and rampant unrest.
The
Yemen Post newspaper described the city as being "under water,"
saying on Twitter that Chapala "drowns city with 40 inches of
water".
Cars
were half-submerged in muddy water, while seafront roads were badly
damaged by high waves.
"The
rainfall from Chapala is far beyond anything ever witnessed in this
arid area which is not used to cyclones," the UN weather agency
said on Monday.
The
"very severe cyclonic storm" brought maximum sustained
winds of 130 km/h with gusts of up to 145 km/h when it made
landfall," it said in a joint update on Tuesday with India's
meteorological agency.
But
Chapala has since rapidly lost strength, it said.
"Due
to rugged terrain, dry air intrusion, increase in vertical wind shear
and decrease in divergence, the system weakened rapidly into a
cyclonic storm and will further weaken into a depression during [the]
next 12 hours," it said.
Mukalla
has been mostly controlled by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula since
April.
The
fighters have taken advantage of the chaos that has engulfed the
country since Houthi Shia rebels overran the capital Sanaa in
September 2014 to tighten their grip on the sprawling southeast.
Neighbouring
Oman downgraded its state of alert, saying the cyclone had moved
westwards and would not directly hit the sultanate.
However,
the Omani meteorological agency warned that waves as high as three
metres were still expected to hit the shores of Dhofar and Al-Wusta
provinces.
Impoverished
Yemen is already facing a deep humanitarian crisis, with a severe
lack of food and medicine caused by the conflict.
About
10 million children are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, the UN
warned last month.
Cyclone Chapala is rapidly losing strength as it hits the arid climates of Yemen and Oman but has till wreaked havoc on local communities
A
rare tropical cyclone has slammed into Yemen, triggering heavy
flooding and causing "enormous" damage in a region of the
war-racked country dominated by Al-Qaeda, a senior official said on
Tuesday.
Packing
winds of more than 100 kilometres per hour, Cyclone Chapala made
landfall in the southeastern provinces of Hadramawt and Shabwa,
Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kafain told AFP.
"The
damage is enormous and we fear human losses," said the minister,
part of a commission set up to deal with the cyclone that brewed in
the Arabian Sea.
The
World Health Organisation said that it had delivered trauma kits for
1,000 patients in Mukalla and was providing fuel for hospitals and
ambulances.
It
said Hadramawt and Shabwa had a combined population of about 1.8
million people including more than 100,000 internally displaced and
27,000 refugees and migrants.
The
storm earlier wreaked havoc on the island of Socotra located 350
kilometres off the Yemeni mainland.
More
than 200 people were injured and dozens of houses and hamlets were
severely damaged or washed away, said Salem Zaher, mayor of the
island's main district Hadibo.
Yemen Post Newspaper
Mukalla UNDER WATER as #Chapala drowns city with 40 inches of water, 100,000's evacuate. #Yemen #اليمن
Images
posted on social media showed heavy floods hitting the streets of
Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, bringing further misery
to Yemenis already beset by poverty and rampant unrest.
The
Yemen Post newspaper described the city as being "under water",
saying on Twitter that Chapala "drowns the city with 40 inches
of water".
Cars
were half-submerged in muddy water while seafront roads were badly
damaged by high waves.
Losing
strength
"The
rainfall from Chapala is far beyond anything ever witnessed in this
arid area which is not used to cyclones," the UN weather agency
said on Monday.
The
"very severe cyclonic storm" brought maximum sustained
winds of 130 kilometres per hour with gusts of up to 145 kilometres
per hour when it made landfall, it said in a joint update on Tuesday
with India's meterological agency.
But
Chapala has since rapidly lost strength, it said.
"Due
to rugged terrain, dry air intrusion, increase in vertical wind shear
and decrease in divergence, the system weakened rapidly into a
cyclonic storm and will further weaken into a depression during (the)
next 12 hours," it said in a statement.
Mukalla
has been mostly controlled by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula since
April.
The
militants have taken advantage of the chaos that has engulfed the
country since Houthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa in September
2014 to tighten their grip on the sprawling southeast.
Neighbouring
Oman downgraded its state of alert, saying the cyclone had moved
westwards and would not directly hit the sultanate.
However,
the Omani meteorological agency warned that waves as high as three
metres were still expected to hit the shores of Dhofar and Al-Wusta
provinces.
Impoverished
Yemen is already facing a deep humanitarian crisis with a severe lack
of food and medicine caused by the conflict.
Around
10 million children are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, the
United Nations warned last month.
STREETS FLOODED: 51 inches of water in some areas of Mukalla as #Chapala continues to pound #Yemen #اليمن
Huge
ice flash flood sweeps across Saudi Arabia
RT,
2
November, 2015
Saudi Arabia has been hit by unprecedented ice flash floods, as seasonal low pressure brings huge downpours to Iraq and Iran as well. The shocking video shows chunks of ice the size of large ball bearings.
Earlier
meteorologists predicted eight years of rain in just two days over
the Arabian Sea.
As
of October 30, 19 people across the region have been killed. In Saudi
Arabia the floods claimed six lives. Civil Defense officials have
carried out 50 successful rescues
This writer’s prediction about danger from strong storms or sea tsunamis in vulnerable areas near some islands to come in October – November 2015 was published in article – Total lunar eclipse of 28 September 2015 and world – in the Summer 2015 ( June) issue of The Astrologer’s Notebook , a quarterly publication from North Port , Florida. Just reproducing the related parts from the article : -“During second half of 2015 , among other things , dangers from sea or in sea like strong storms or sea tsunamis could be likely in vulnerable regions. Power dams and electricity could bring to surface substantial concern. Natural calamities such as floods , landslides and earthquake could sadden.” The prediction further goes in the same article : “ Some islands located near the sea may need to take some precaution .Though second half of 2015 seems to be causing concern , months October and November of 2015 are likely to trigger many unwelcome things out of above mentioned aspects or areas of life”.
ReplyDeleteThese predictions published in the month of June 2015 to happen in November 2015 have come precisely accurate in the case of cyclone lashed in Yemen and categorized as rare. These unique contributions aimed to help the affected deserve to be noted .