Thunderstorms trigger flooding in Yemen
Yet more misery for residents as heavy rain block roads
Published On 3 Jun 2018
Torrential rain has caused flooding in Yemen‘s capital Sanaa, making some roads impassable for motorists.
Thunderstorms hit Sanaa on Friday afternoon and again on Saturday afternoon, an unexpected occurrence in the city, as June is predominantly a dry month.
Keep reading
list of 4 itemsThousands evacuate as wildfire grows ‘dramatically’ in western Canada
Photos: Flash floods in Afghanistan devastate lives and livelihoods
Floods kill 50 people in northern Afghanistan’s Baghlan province
Sanaa sees some rainfall between March and May, but its wettest months are between July and September making its climate quite distinct from the rest of the Arabian Peninsula.
Children were filmed playing in the water, enjoying a break from the trauma of conflict.
While the rest of the peninsula is sweltering in the summer heat, Yemen is shrouded by the southwest monsoon.
The majority of the country is fairly cloudy during this time, but in the western highlands, heavy rain falls.
Sanaa receives less rain than other parts of the highlands as it is on the eastern side of the plateau, in the shadow of Jabal an-Nabi Shuayb, the highest mountain in Yemen.
Despite this, sometimes the rain can be heavy enough to cause disruption.