عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

UN Warns Flash Floods, Drought Expected in Yemen

Flash floods may cause severe damage to agriculture (UN)
Flash floods may cause severe damage to agriculture (UN)
TT
TT

UN Warns Flash Floods, Drought Expected in Yemen

Flash floods may cause severe damage to agriculture (UN)
Flash floods may cause severe damage to agriculture (UN)

The UN on Friday warned about potential widespread floods in Yemen during the current rainy season, while a severe drought is affecting many areas, significantly threatening agricultural production.

The agency also noted a decline in cultivated areas to less than half its previous size due to climate change and weather fluctuations.

rometeorological Early Warning Bulletin, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said convective rainfall anticipated during the upcoming fall season is likely to cause widespread flash floods, especially across the western and southern lowlands where rainfall thresholds may be exceeded.

FAO forecasts suggest that the intensity of rainfall could lead to soil saturation and overwhelm both natural and artificial drainage systems.

“These conditions are expected to increase the risk of flash floods and river overflows, particularly in downstream areas of mountainous watersheds, posing significant threats to already vulnerable agropastoral communities,” the UN agency warned.

Also, rainfall is expected to intensify this month, with peak levels across the Southern Uplands and the Central and Northern Highlands, where cumulative totals may exceed 300 mm in some areas.

This increased precipitation, FAO said, will significantly elevate the risk of successive flash floods, especially in flood-prone wadis and low-lying areas.

Highly Affected Areas
Based on current forecasts, flood risk levels are high in the Sordod and Siham watersheds, moderate (alert) in the Rimah and Zabid watersheds and low in the Harad, Banna, and Tuban watersheds. The most impacted areas are projected to include Hodeidah, Sanaa, Mahwit, Dhamar and Raymah.

FAO said floods are projected to significantly affect cultivated areas, with approximately 114,000 hectares of actively farmed land at high flood risk.

“This represents about 8% of the country’s actively cultivated land as of the end of July 2025,” the UN agency said in its report, adding that such flooding poses a serious threat to the optimal yields of key staple crops, especially sorghum and millet.

The bulletin also warned that floods are expected to exacerbate food insecurity and malnutrition in areas already facing Phase 3 and above in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

In such levels, households may resort to negative coping strategies to manage their food consumption and livelihood needs, including the limiting of food consumption and depleting essential assets.

Therefore, FAO recommended enhancing localized early warning systems collaboration and ensuring that contingency plans are operational before the peak rainy season in August.

Also, it called for pre-positioning seeds, farming tools, and veterinary kits in exposed areas to enable rapid recovery and maintain planting cycles and for strengthening multi-sectoral response efforts to reduce risks of displacement, asset loss, and reliance on negative coping strategies.

Temperature Variation
Next fall, Yemen is expected to see temperature variations across its main regions, the FAO bulletin said.

Elevated areas are anticipated to have cooler temperatures, not exceeding 25°C. In contrast, higher temperatures, surpassing 35°C, are likely in the northern parts of Hadramaut and Al Maharah, as well as along the coastal areas of Taiz and Lahj governorates.

As of June 2025, combined remote sensing data from and field reports from the Yemeni Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry indicated that cereal crops, particularly sorghum, were in critical growth stages but experiencing significant stress.

This was primarily due to rainfall deficits from March to June, a delayed onset of the main rainy season, and higher-than-normal temperatures.

FAO showed that these conditions led to reduced soil moisture and increased evapotranspiration, adversely affecting both cereals and highland cash crops.

However, projections for August to October suggest the possibility of partial recovery, especially for late-maturing cereals and pasture regeneration.

Simultaneously, the expected increase in rainfall could raise the risk of flash floods in highly flood-prone areas, likely causing substantial damage to agricultural assets.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Over $71 Bn Needed Over Next Decade to Rebuild Gaza, Say UN and EU

Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Over $71 Bn Needed Over Next Decade to Rebuild Gaza, Say UN and EU

Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)
Palestinian men stand atop a heavily damaged building in Gaza City on April 20, 2026. (AFP)

More than $71 billion will be needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction in war-ravaged Gaza, according to an EU-UN assessment published Monday.

In their final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), the United Nations and the European Union said that more than two years of war in the Palestinian territory "has led to unprecedented loss of life and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis".

"Recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at around $71.4 billion," said the assessment, developed in coordination with the World Bank.

Much of Gaza -- including schools, hospitals and other civic infrastructure -- has been reduced to rubble by a withering Israeli military offensive following the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The final assessment determined that $26.3 billion would be required in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.

"Physical infrastructure damages are estimated at $35.2 billion, with economic and social losses amounting to $22.7 billion," a joint statement said.

Gaza is under a fragile ceasefire agreed last October, which followed two years of devastating conflict sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures tallied by AFP. Palestinian fighters also abducted 251 hostages.

The retaliatory Israeli military campaign has killed more than 72,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry whose figures the UN considers reliable.

- 'Immense scale of need' -

According to the RDNA, some 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, more than 50 percent of hospitals in the territory are non-functional and nearly all schools have been destroyed or damaged.

At the same time, 1.9 million people -- nearly Gaza's entire population -- have been displaced, often multiple times, and more than 60 percent of the population had lost their homes, the assessment found.

Gaza's economy has contracted by 84 percent, it said.

"The scale and extent of deprivation across living conditions, livelihoods/income, food security, gender equality, and social inclusion, have pushed back human development in the Gaza Strip by 77 years," the assessment said.

The UN and the EU stressed that "given the immense scale of need, recovery efforts must run in parallel with humanitarian action" in Gaza, ensuring a "transition from emergency relief toward reconstruction at scale".

They insisted that the recovery and reconstruction needed to be "Palestinian-led", and incorporate approaches that actively support the transfer of governance to the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2803.

That resolution, which was adopted last November, welcomed the creation of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace to support Gaza's reconstruction.

The UN and the EU also emphasised that "a set of enabling conditions" were needed for the resolution to be implemented effectively on the ground.

They included in particular "a sustained ceasefire and adequate security", as well as "unimpeded humanitarian access and immediate restoration of essential services," and "free movement of people, goods, and reconstruction materials, within and between Gaza and the West Bank".

Without such conditions, they warned, "neither recovery nor reconstruction can succeed".

Arab World

Lebanon, Israel to Hold Second Round of Talks in Washington on Thursday

From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

Lebanon, Israel to Hold Second Round of Talks in Washington on Thursday

From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)
From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the US Dept. of State, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP)

Lebanese and Israeli representatives will hold talks in Washington on Thursday, a US State Department spokesperson and an Israeli source speaking on the condition of anonymity told Reuters ‌on Monday.

The ‌US will host ‌the ⁠second round of ⁠ambassador-level talks between the two countries at the Department of State, the State Department spokesperson said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted ⁠the first round of talks ‌between Israeli ‌ambassador to the United States ‌Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon's ambassador to ‌Washington Nada Moawad - the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades - on April 14.

"We ‌will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the ⁠two ⁠governments," the spokesperson said.

The second round of talks will mark the first talks between the two countries since a 10-day ceasefire took effect on Thursday.

- Aoun defends talks - 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the occupation in the south, even as Hezbollah and its supporters rejected the negotiations. 

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP Monday it was in Aoun's and Lebanon's "interest" to withdraw from the talks, however adding that his group also wanted the ceasefire to last. 

A ceasefire pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel started on Friday after being announced by US President Donald Trump. 

"It is in the interest of Lebanon, the president of the republic and the government to move away from the path of direct negotiation and return to a national understanding about the best option for Lebanon," Fadlallah told AFP. 

"Perhaps through indirect negotiations, even via the United States of America, we can achieve" Lebanon's goals, Fadlallah stated. 

Aoun said Monday the goal of negotiations was to "stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern regions and deploy the (Lebanese) army all the way to the internationally recognized southern borders". 

Fadlallah said regional powers including Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have worked to build a US-Iran diplomatic track, which creates "a regional umbrella that can provide a kind of guarantee for Lebanon. 

"Going into direct bilateral negotiations, alone, amid deep Lebanese divisions and internal disagreements, constitutes a threat to internal consensus." 

He noted that there was no direct communication with the president, while Hezbollah's ministers remain in Lebanon's cabinet. 

Aoun's remarks on Monday came after an address to the nation Friday night, in which he said: "We negotiate for ourselves... we are no longer a pawn in anyone's game, nor an arena for anyone's wars, and we never will be again." 

The truce in Lebanon was also one of Iran's conditions for resuming talks with Washington to extend their separate ceasefire and work out the terms of a lasting peace. 

Lebanon is officially at war with Israel and has no diplomatic relations with its southern neighbor. 

- Aoun faces backlash - 

On the road to Beirut's international airport, in the southern suburbs where Hezbollah holds sway, AFP images showed fresh graffiti attacking Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Monday, following their endorsement of negotiations. 

"Joseph is a traitor, Nawaf is a turncoat," said one spray-painted sign. "Dealing with Israel is forbidden... no to normalization," another read. 

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati blasted Aoun on Saturday, saying "defeated, you go to the Israelis and Americans, let's see what you will get out of it". 

Hezbollah supporters also heaped scorn on Aoun on social media. 

"You're going to hand over the south after two days of negotiations?" one user posted on X, adding "we won't let you" sign an agreement. 

"After all our sacrifices this guy wants to speak for us?" another user posted on X, with their profile picture showing a picture of Aoun and Salam with the words "they do not represent me". 

Israeli attacks killed nearly 2,300 people and forced over a million to flee their homes, Lebanese authorities said, since Hezbollah pulled the country into the Middle East war last month. 

"Any outcome of direct negotiations cannot be imposed on the people who made these sacrifices," Fadlallah told AFP. 

- 'I am full of hope' - 

Aoun on Monday named former Lebanese ambassador to Washington Simon Karam to head the negotiations with Israel. 

In December, Karam became the first Lebanese civilian representative to directly speak with Israeli representatives in decades, as part of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism set up at the end of a previous round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2023 and 2024. 

"Lebanon is facing two options: either the continuation of the war, with all its humanitarian, social, economic, and sovereign repercussions, or negotiations to put an end to this war and achieve lasting stability," Aoun said. 

"I have chosen negotiations, and I am full of hope that we will be able to save Lebanon," he said. 

Arab World

A Top Paramilitary Commander Defects to Sudan’s Military as War Enters 4th Year

A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)
A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

A Top Paramilitary Commander Defects to Sudan’s Military as War Enters 4th Year

A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)
A boy is seen through the wreckage of a car in Omdurman, Sudan, on the outskirts of Khartoum, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP)

A high-profile paramilitary commander in Sudan has changed sides and joined the country’s army in a move welcomed by army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan shortly after the war entered its fourth year.

Burhan on Sunday welcomed Maj. Gen. al-Nour Ahmed Adam, who defected earlier this month from the Rapid Support Forces. The ruling sovereign council posted a video on social media showing Burhan’s meeting with Adam, who is known as al-Qubba, in Sudan’s Northern province on the border with Egypt.

“Doors are open to all those who lay down arms and join the path of national reconstruction,” Burhan, who chairs the sovereign council, said in a statement.

The RSF didn’t comment on the defection.

Adam fled the RSF-controlled Darfur region earlier this month and joined the military along with dozens of fighters and equipment, according to local media.

The Sudan Tribune news outlet reported that Adam left after “disputes” with the RSF leadership, mainly over not appointing him as a military commander of North Darfur province after the RSF seized control of el-Fashir city in October – the military’s last stronghold in the Darfur region.

Adam is one of the most senior officers to defect from the paramilitaries during the war. In 2024, Abu Aqla Kaikel, who led the Sudan Shield Forces, left the RSF when the military retook the crucial central province of Gezira.

The war broke out in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the sprawling country.

The war has killed at least 59,000 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known as ACLED. The US-based war tracking group said its toll was almost certainly low given difficulties in reporting.