UNHCR in Yemen reported is has been in contact with colleagues in Somaliland and Puntland to dissuade refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants primarily from Ethiopia and Somalia from taking boats to Yemen due to the risky conditions at sea as a result of Chapala.
Advertisement
Yemeni Minister of Fishing, Fahd Selim, said Mengh has killed at least one person and wreaked havoc when it hit Socotra Island, a small Yemeni archipelago located about 360km off the mainland.
Megh is expected to hit Yemen’s coast east of Aden as a severe cyclonic storm around 1200 GMT on Tuesday, with sustained winds of 90 km-120 km (56-75 mph), according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Since Megh will not be as strong as Chapala was when it began to interact with the dry air, Megh will weaken faster in the Gulf of Aden.
Back-to-back cyclones such as Chapala and Megh affecting Socotra Island within the span of a week is unprecedented in historical record. It is not as big.
Tropical cyclones are extremely rare over the Arabian Peninsula, and two back-to-back was “an absolutely extraordinary event”, said Nullis.
The storms appeared to be caused by high sea surface temperatures and a naturally occurring climate phenomenon resembling the El Nino, called the Indian Ocean Dipole, which allows low pressure systems to move further west over warmer water than is traditionally the case, and develop into cyclones, WMO said.
Around “3,000 families were displaced during the cyclone”, he said, reporting “massive destruction” of the province’s infrastructure.
More than 200 people were injured and dozens of houses and hamlets severely damaged or washed away when Chapala hit Socotra, according to Mr Salem Zaher, mayor of the island’s main district Hadibo. “Humanitarian action is hindered by insecurity related to the ongoing conflict, and because much of the affected area is in territory controlled by al Qaeda”.
More than 50,000 Yemenis, including 18,000 on Socotra, were displaced because of Cyclone Chapala.
Advertisement
OCHA had set up a special 11-man support and response team, based in Oman, to help with the relief efforts, added Laerke.
