ALBAWABA - Flash floods have ravaged through the Yemeni governorate of Mahawit killing at least 25 people.
A police statement revealed that 24+ people are reportedly missing after their homes were swept away by the flash floods. In July, floods caused massive damage in several areas across Yemen, killing around 60 people and impacting 268,000.
Xinhua news agency reported that earlier this month heavy rains and flash floods pounded the Hodeidah and Hajjah regions killing at least 45 people and damaging more than 12,000 houses.
The World Health Organization has voiced concerns about the possible transmission of illnesses in the conflict-ridden country during the rainy season as a result of contaminated water and poor sanitation.
The Hais facility is overrun with hundreds of potential cholera cases, and medical personnel are working nonstop to contain the outbreak in an area that has already seen ravaging fights.
Bakil al-Hadrami, a doctor at a diarrhea treatment center in Hais stated that "the influx of patients has increased due to the floods and rains in Hais,".
"The staff on duty are overburdened and services could collapse at any moment," al-Hadrami told AFP, while warning of a health crisis if an intervention is not acted upon soon.
According to the UN, there are around 164,000 probable cases of cholera in Yemen; if action is not taken, that number may increase to 250,000 in the upcoming weeks.
A recent report by the International Organization of Migration (IOM), revealed that "The recent (cholera) wave... has been exacerbated by heavy rains and subsequent flooding, increasing the risk of water contamination,".
