SANAA, Yemen (AP) — At least fourteen people have been killed by flooding in Yemen in the past 24 hours, according to security officials. Non-seasonal rainstorms have hit parts of the country for the past week.
The provinces of al-Mahrah, Hadramawt, Shabwa, Abeen and Jouf in the south and east of the country have seen instances of flooding. In Shabwa, local officials said a father and daughter are believed to have drowned after swiftly moving waters carried their car away. Searchers had only recovered the body of the father.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The storms are not seasonal for the south and the east of the country, which is usually dry this time of year. The country’s northwestern highlands experience seasonal rain late spring through early fall. The storms also damaged crops, roads, and telecommunications infrastructure.
The country’s weather service warned late Wednesday that the rest of the country should be prepared for more rain in the coming two days.
The Arab world’s poorest country is divided between Houthi rebels in the north and an internationally recognized government in the south. Both sides have been at war since the Iran-backed rebels swept across much of the north and seized the capital of Sanaa late in 2014. They forced the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Yemen is located at the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, overlooking the Red and Arabian Seas.
