Yemen Braces for Devastation as Cyclone Chapala Nears

A rare and powerful cyclone tracking through the Arabian Peninsula is poised to make destructive landfall in Yemen on Tuesday morning.

Hours after devastating the nearby island archipelago of Socotra, where three were killed and more than 200 injured, Cyclone Chapala continues its rapid approach to the mainland, where meteorologists expect it will tear through the beleaguered region with record rainfall and hurricane-strength winds. It is also aiming to hit Oman, though fears of its impact there have diminished.

Global weather expert Dr. Mansour Al Mazroui told Gulf News on Monday that the cyclone may send a 400mm downpour onto the mainland in 24 hours—that’s more than three years’ worth of rain in a day, Al Mazroui said. As Weather Underground meteorologist Quincy Vagell explained on Sunday, such heavy rain increases the risks of “potentially catastrophic flooding.”

On Twitter, updates on the storm came under the hashtag #CycloneChapala.

#CycloneChapala Tweets

In the center of the bullseye is Al Mukalla, a Yemeni city with a population of about 300,000. Its seafront has already been destroyed by massive waves, according to reports from the ground. One resident, Mohammed Ba Zuhair, told Reuters that there has been no assistance yet from officials or the Al Qaeda chapter that partially controls the city.