Yemeni officials: Nonseasonal floods kill 14 in south, east

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen — Flooding in Yemen killed at least 14 people this week after nonseasonal rainstorms hit parts of the country, security officials said.

The provinces of al-Mahrah, Hadramawt, Shabwa, Abeen and Jouf in the south and east of Yemen 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 talk to the media.

The storms are not seasonal for the south and the east of Yemen, which is usually dry this time of year. The country’s northwestern highlands experience seasonal rain from late spring through early fall. The storms also damaged crops, roads, and telecommunications infrastructure.

Yemen’s weather service warned late Wednesday that the rest of the country should be prepared for more rain in the coming two days.

Yemen is located at the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, overlooking the Red and Arabian Seas. The Arab world’s poorest country, it 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. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year and has been waging war with the Houthis to restore Hadi to power.