SANAA: President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday allocated $100 million in aid to flood-hit areas of southeast Yemen as the death toll from last week’s storms topped 70.
“The president ordered 20 billion rials ($100 million) to be added to the general budget for the reconstruction of Hadhramaut and Mahara provinces,” the government said.
A relief team rescued two children alive from rubble of a house at Tarim but uncovered 10 bodies of people from the same family who had all died in the floods of Thursday and Friday, an official in Hadhramaut province told AFP.
The discovery of the bodies take to 68 the number of deaths caused by the high waters, while another six were struck by lightning during the storms that brought the torrential rain. Many other people are still missing and thousands are without shelter, the official said.
Rescue teams, chiefly using military helicopters, are continuing operations to help people affected by the flood, especially in isolated villages.
Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu assigned an OIC team to tour the flood-hit areas. The team will assess the damage and provide urgent assistance to the victims.
