UN requests urgent support of about $5 million to provide relief to those affected by rains in western Yemen

The United Nations has requested nearly five million dollars in urgent support to provide relief to those affected by the rains that hit several governorates in western Yemen in the past few days.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that “the United Nations and its partners are delivering supplies and assistance to people in flood-affected areas in the western part of Yemen, but these efforts need additional support in light of the lack of funding.”

The office said it needs an estimated $4.8 million to provide support to affected families, according to the UN website.

OCHA said the situation is constantly changing, but initial reports indicate that at least 10,000 families have been affected since Tuesday, when heavy rains caused flash floods in several parts of Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Raymah and Al Mahwit governorates - damaging homes, farms and infrastructure.

The office noted that the number of those affected is likely to rise as more information becomes available.

He pointed out that the United Nations partners provided immediate assistance to more than 1,600 people in the affected areas, and the World Health Organization and UNICEF delivered much-needed medical supplies to local hospitals and health centers, in addition to preparing to deploy dozens of mobile health teams.

The heavy rains that hit a number of western governorates last week caused damage to thousands of families, the death and disappearance of dozens, the extensive destruction of homes, and the burial of large areas of agricultural land.