Flooding triggered by heavy rain has killed at least 97 people in Yemen over the past month, according to a United Nations body, as the country’s worsening weather crisis collides with years of war and weak infrastructure.
The latest figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees describe a disaster that is still unfolding. The agency said the western Malhan district has been hit especially hard after three dam bursts worsened the flooding. Rescue teams have been struggling to reach some affected areas, and impassable roads have slowed the movement of aid and emergency workers.
The damage is already extensive. UNHCR said more than 56,000 homes have been affected in the western Malhan district alone, while over 1,000 families have been displaced. Across the country, more than 33,000 families have been affected since the monsoon season began in mid-July. The hardest-hit governorates include Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Al-Taweela and Marib, where people are facing both immediate flood damage and longer-running shortages of basic services.
Yemen’s vulnerability to flooding is intensified by its broader humanitarian collapse. Nearly a decade of civil war has devastated roads, hospitals and other infrastructure. The conflict has displaced more than 4.5 million people internally, and the UN says many households are already unable to meet daily food needs. Floodwater that wipes out shelters and farmland therefore does more than destroy property: it strips away the limited safety net many families still have.
UNHCR also warned that the flooding may have created new hazards beyond the visible damage. The agency said unexploded ordnance uncovered by floodwaters poses an additional threat to civilians and humanitarian workers. That warning matters in a country where front lines and weapons contamination remain part of everyday life in many regions.
The United Nations has repeatedly described Yemen as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, and the latest floods add another layer of pressure to an already overextended response system. Heavy rainfall in the highlands has become more frequent and more intense, further complicating recovery in a country where large parts of the population live with fragile access to food, shelter and healthcare.
For now, the main challenge is access. Roads washed out by rain and damaged by flooding are keeping rescue workers from reaching some communities quickly, while the scale of the flood damage suggests the final toll may rise as more areas are assessed. In a country where many families were already living on the edge, the storm has become yet another crisis within a crisis.
