Heavy rains destroy 111 homes in Yemen

The Yemeni National Commission for Education, Culture and Science has reported that a total of 111 homes have been destroyed due to heavy rain and floods in the old city of Sanaa over the past weeks.

This was announced In a statement issued on Saturday, where the committee urged UNESCO to “immediately intervene and save the buildings in Sanaa Old City which are on the World Heritage List, from collapse and destruction and to address the severe damage caused to them by rain and floods.”

The statement noted that while some of the buildings were partially destroyed, others were totally destroyed without giving further details if the buildings are historical buildings or modern ones.

The committee also called for “the necessity for a rapid and urgent response to prevent a major catastrophe.”

Earlier, a Yemeni official from the Organisation for the Preservation of Historic Cities of Yemen (GOPHCY) said that 5,000 buildings in the Old City of Sanaa, which is under Houthi control, are at risk of collapse.

Dozens of people have died over the past few weeks due to heavy rain and floods across Yemen. The rain has also destroyed thousands of homes and displaced their residents.