Ibb.. Two people die, others rescued, and homes destroyed due to torrential rains

Torrential rains that hit the city of Ibb and its suburbs on Thursday caused the death of two people, the rescue of others, and the destruction of a number of homes.

Local sources said that the two young men (Ayham Salim Al-Arhabi - 16 years old) and his cousin (Wadih Qanaf - 18 years old) died by drowning while trying to rescue two children who were swept away by floods in the "Al-Dhuhab" area in the Al-Dhihar district, north of the city of Ibb.

The sources added that the two young men were able to rescue the two children from the torrential floods that followed the rains that hit the city of Ibb yesterday evening, but the floods swept them away.

The sources indicated that Al-Arhabi's body was found in Rababa stream in Al-Qafr district, northwest of Ibb, today, Friday, while "Qanaf's" body was found in Wadi Zabid in the border areas between Ibb and Al-Hodeidah governorates, after an arduous search that lasted several hours.

Heroic rescue operations

Heavy rains caused torrential floods in several areas of the governorate, which is witnessing the heaviest rain wave in the country, according to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Local residents reported that a young man named Abdul Majeed Abdullah Al-Fakhri, along with others, led a rescue operation for an entire family of seven people who were trapped by floods inside their home in the Al-Khashaba area in the Jablah district, southwest of the city of Ibb.

Activists on social media published a video recording documenting the rescue operation of the family, including a mother and her child, in a heroic scene that won the admiration of the Yemenis.

According to local sources who spoke to "Yemeni Youth Net", the person who appeared in the video rescuing the family was from the same family, and he received wide praise from social media users, and was honored and financially assisted by a number of expatriates and wealthy people for his heroism.

The sources indicated that the rescued family was renting an apartment on the ground floor. The floods flooded their house and destroyed their furniture. They were transferred to a hotel to spend the night at the expense of some wealthy people.

#Watch the rescue of a mother and her child from being swept away by floods in the Jablah area of Ibb Governorate.
Today's floods swept away 3 children from the Dar Al-Qudsi area, and they have not been found yet... pic.twitter.com/HuqJeMgb0v

- Ibrahim Asqin (@IbrahimAsqin) August 15, 2024

In another incident, a truck driver named "Najmuddin Al-Amari" rescued people who were on a bus on Queen Arwa Street, after they were swept away by floods, in an initiative that was appreciated by the residents who witnessed the incident.

House collapse

In Jablah District (southwest of Ibb), heavy rains caused the demolition of two houses in Jablah city and the collapse of a third house’s wall.

Local sources said that the house of citizen (Abdul-Wasie Al-Rahbi) and the house of citizen (Abdo Saeed Al-Thawabi) collapsed due to the rain and the resulting floods.

The sources added that the wall of a house belonging to a person from the Al-Basir family also collapsed, while another house belonging to the Al-Mutawakkil family is in danger of collapsing.

This comes two days after the collapse of two houses in the Al-Mukadad neighborhood in the historic city of Jableh, whose buildings are mostly old-fashioned.