On Wednesday, a local health official reported that at least 25 individuals lost their lives due to flash floods in Yemen’s northwestern province of Al-Mahwit. These flash floods, which were caused by over a day of intense rainfall, resulted in the failure of three dams and the destruction of numerous homes in the Malhan district on Tuesday.
Rescue efforts are currently ongoing, as several residents remain unaccounted for, according to the health source. Earlier this month, severe rains and flash floods in the northern provinces of Hodeidah and Hajjah led to the deaths of 45 people and caused damage to more than 12,000 homes, as reported by local health authorities.
The residents in the areas told reporters on Wednesday.
They could not confirm the casualty toll.
Many families remained under the rubble in the Malhan district.
Cars were swept away and roads have been cut off, they added.
The collapsing dams caused mountain rockslides, affecting people and houses in the province, located near the capital Sana’a.
The World Health Organization has raised concerns about the risk of disease outbreaks due to contaminated water and inadequate sanitation exacerbated by the rainy season in this conflict-affected nation. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi movement took control of several northern provinces, prompting the Yemeni government to abandon the capital, Sanaa.