Sultanate sends relief flights to flood-hit Yemen
MUSCAT - Oman has sent a number
of relief flights to Yemen affected by floods and torrential downpours,
an official source at the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. The source told
Oman News Agency (ONA) that the Sultanate is also co-ordinating with the
Yemeni authorities to send specialists to these areas to assist in relieving
the damage and their impact on residents in these regions. The source affirmed
that the initiatives came within the context of the Sultanate"s keenness
to assist its brothers in Yemen to overcome such humanitarian plight especially
as both countries are tied by distinguished brotherly relations.
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. 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, an official in Hadramaut province said. These victims take to 68 the number of deaths, while another six were struck by lightning. Many other people are still missing and thousands are without shelter, the official said. Rescue teams are continuing operations to help people affected by the flood, especially in isolated villages.