Hadramout (South24) 

---

One person drowned in the city of Mukalla in Hadramout Governorate, South Yemen, after heavy rains and widespread floods struck the governorate and neighboring Al-Mahra Governorate yesterday.

Local Hadramout authorities said heavy rain, accompanied by strong winds and large ocean waves, hit the governorate’s capital, Mukalla, leading to floods that submerged multiple areas. 

The flooding caused severe damage to property and infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and homes.

A local official in Hadramout told government news agency Saba that the damage affected drinking water wells in Mukalla and agricultural irrigation networks in Tarim District.

The floods also swept away dozens of cars and blocked the main roads linking Mukalla to the Hadramout Coast and Wadi Hadramout, and the international road leading to the Sultanate of Oman.

The torrential rain caused a power outage in Mukalla that lasted several hours, while floods submerged several of the governorate’s valleys and agricultural areas.

The Governor of Hadramout, Mabkhout bin Madi, ordered all schools, institutes, and universities to suspend academic activities today due to safety concerns resulting from the extreme weather.

In Al-Mahra Governorate, the education office for the governorate decided to postpone the start of classes in all of its public and private schools until next Sunday due to the tropical depression in the region.

Hadramout security authorities announced that Abdullah Ahmed Baawad, a young man from Mukalla, passed away in his home city yesterday evening due to the extreme weather. 

The 24-year-old had been swimming in Mukalla Creek with several colleagues when torrential waters flowed into the creek, causing him to drown. 

On Monday, the Early Warning Center in Hadramout warned of a state of air instability in parts of Hadramout, Al-Mahra, and the Shabwa governorates, lasting for 72 hours.

The center said that the peak effects would begin between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening, and continue until late Saturday or Sunday.

The tropical depression extends from the broader storm that passed through several countries in the past few days, striking the southern Arabian Peninsula and causing unprecedented torrential rains in the UAE.

According to information published by Saba, the Yemeni Prime Minister and members of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council contacted the governorates of Al-Mahra and Hadramout to check on conditions in the two governorates and the impact the floods had had on them.