Death toll from floods in Yemen's Hodeidah province rises to 95

by IANS |

Sanaa, Sep 3 (IANS) The death toll after a month of heavy rains and floods in Yemen's Hodeidah province has risen to 95, with 34 others injured, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Tuesday.Dozens of houses across the province have collapsed or been swept away by the heavy rains and floods, said the television station, citing a statement from a Houthi emergency committee, without providing a specific number, Xinhua news agency reported.

Two weeks ago, the local health authorities in Hodeidah reported that at least 45 people were killed and more than 12,000 houses damaged due to the heavy rains and floods.In the neighbouring province of Al-Mahwit, Houthi television said that the search for 20 missing people was still ongoing in the Malhan district, where rains, floods, and landslides killed at least 30, swept away dozens of houses and cut off roads to the district last week.

The World Health Organisation has warned of the possible spread of diseases due to contaminated water and poor sanitation during the rainy season in the conflict-affected country.Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi group seized several provinces, forcing the Yemeni internationally recognized government out of the capital Sanaa.