"It felt like a night from the apocalypse"; this is how Hajj Nasser Al-Marzouqi, a 65-year-old resident of the "Al-Gharran" camp in Al-Jawf (northeast Yemen), began his story, describing what happened to him and his family of 15, mostly women and children, on April 20th, when floods submerged their home and swept away what remained of their shelter.
The family of Hajj Al-Marzouqi is among dozens of displaced families affected by the floods in the displacement camps in Al-Jawf Governorate, spanning across Yemeni regions impacted by the "Hadeer" tropical storm. These families have endured humanitarian suffering due to the war and conflict in Yemen, compounded by natural disasters resulting from the climate changes ravaging the country.
On the other hand, disasters continue to befall Yemenis, intensifying their suffering day by day. With the worsening of the humanitarian crisis and the negative repercussions of the ongoing war in the country for more than nine years, Yemenis find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty and instability, with environmental disasters adding an additional threat to their lives and putting them at risk of losing their homes and meager possessions.
The recent air depression, named 'Al-Hadeer,' which affected the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman in recent days, has also reached Hadhramaut (southeastern Yemen), Al-Mahra, and several other eastern Yemeni governorates, leaving devastating impacts on both the land and its inhabitants, extending to the displacement camps in Al-Jawf governorate.
In fact, the suffering of the displaced in Al-Jawf Governorate extends beyond the boundaries of displacement, poverty, and hunger, with the emergence of other factors such as nature and climate change. The heavy rains and floods resulting from the recent cyclone that hit the eastern Yemeni governorates in the past few days have swept away displacement camps in areas like Al-Gharan, Al-Rayyan, Al-Muhtafir, and Al-Haraj.
In this regard, "Khuyut" monitors the damage, reporting that approximately 1,700 families, estimated at about 9,100 individuals residing in these camps, have been affected. The Executive Unit for the Management of Displacement Camps notes that these camps, located in the northeastern region of Al-Jawf Governorate, are inhabited by more than 3,123 displaced families in desert areas, residing in temporary shelters made of tents, vulnerable to storms and sweeping floods.
Hajj Nasser continues his story with profound sorrow and pain, telling "Khuyut": "We were hit by a night storm laden with heavy rains, torrential torrents, and hailstones, to the point where I couldn't see any of my neighbors anymore, and there was nothing left of the tent I lived in but small, dilapidated pieces."
He further adds that he fled with his family, leaving behind all their household belongings to escape certain death and save his family from drowning. However, as they got into the car, they were hit by hailstones, causing the car window glass to break, leaving them vulnerable to drowning before one of the young men living nearby the displacement camp came to their rescue, he expressed. He continued, "When the storm ended in the morning, I was shocked to find that everything had been destroyed—the kitchen, the tent, the bathroom, and even the livestock were no longer there. Everything in the shelter was swept away by the floods."
“The damages that befell the displaced people's dwellings include the destruction of temporary shelters and their necessities (tents), damage to water tanks and sewage, loss of household and family belongings and livestock in the camp, and the destruction of the solar power that displaced people rely on in the camps due to the absence of another source of electricity, in addition to the damage to food supplies and many other material and in-kind losses.”
The atmospheric depression caused the closure of several main roads and led to power outages in several Yemeni governorates affected by this storm, with the displaced people in the camps of Al-Jawf Governorate enduring the greatest suffering.
Moreover, the unprecedented heavy rains in recent years have exacerbated the suffering of displaced people, severed their connections, and destroyed what remains of their dilapidated tent homes, especially in the camps of Al-Rayyan, Al-Gharran, Al-Muhtafir, and Al-Haraj (northeast of Al-Jawf governorate), causing them to endure pain and live in agony amid the difficult life experienced by displaced families over the past years of war in Yemen.
Nature Exacerbates the Displacement Tragedies
In this regard, the displaced individual, Mubarak bin Saleh (47 years old), one of the affected residents in "Al-Gharran" camp, tells "Khuyut": "Now, we are out in the open, abandoned without any life necessities. We find nothing to feed our children in the camp. We no longer have a tent to shelter us after the flood swept away my tent along with everything in it for our daily sustenance, and even our clothes were swept away by the floods."
With deep sorrow, "Bin Saleh" questioned, "Where do we start? What do we do after the floods swept everything we had, sparing only our bodies?" He emphasized the absence of the role of humanitarian organizations and emergency aid agencies amidst this disaster that hit them in the desert, characterized by high temperatures and frequent storms. Their situation has become increasingly difficult due to the rains and floods, resulting in the loss of their shelters and all their belongings.
In this context, official authorities and humanitarian organizations sounded the alarm. The Relief Subcommittee in Al-Jawf Governorate reported that many families were affected by the air depression that hit the Khabb wa ash Sha'af District and the camps, which host 3,123 families in more than 49 gatherings of war-affected displaced persons.
In a report issued on April 21, the committee stated that the number of affected families in the displacement camps of the northern sector of the governorate reached 300, with 115 families severely affected and 185 partially affected by the heavy rains and floods on the same night.
The report also added that "the most urgent needs for the displaced include more than 324 shelters, non-food items, 50 drinking water tanks, and 72 toilets for the families affected by the floods in the displaced persons' camps. Additionally, 300 families are in need of food supplies, having lost their provisions due to this air depression."
Warnings of Climate Change and Lack of Support
In a report issued in early April, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) forecasted flooding in the low-lying areas of Yemen, including Hadhramaut and Al-Mahra, starting on April 20, with parts of the northeastern region of Al-Jawf governorate within the specified area that the organization predicted would experience floods and torrential rains.
Likewise, the organization mentioned in a report published by the Early Warning Weather Agricultural Center that the rest of the country would experience a slight change in rainfall, with rainfall expected to exceed 150 mm in the northern parts of the country, such as Sana'a, Saada, Ibb, and Hajjah.
Furthermore, the head of the Relief Sub-committee in the governorate, Fahd Jarallah, issued urgent appeals through the media to international humanitarian organizations working in Yemen to intervene quickly to save the lives of hundreds of affected families. He confirmed that no humanitarian aid, from any local or international entity, had reached the northern "Al-Gharran" camp following the atmospheric depression. The camp contains more than fifteen gatherings of displaced persons, most of whom were completely affected, and 185 families were partially affected.
Jarallah pointed out that there are some families who have been living in the open for more than two days, without food supplies or anything to eat. Further, they lost their water tanks and do not have tents or mattresses to shelter them, as they were destroyed by the disaster that has befellen the displaced persons.
The damages that befell the displaced people's dwellings include the destruction of temporary shelters and their necessities (tents), damage to water tanks and sewage, loss of household and family belongings and their livestock within the camp, and the destruction of the solar power systems, which the displaced people rely upon in the camps due to the lack of another source of electricity, in addition to the damage to food supplies and many other material and in-kind losses, according to the Relief Sub-committee in Al-Jawf Governorate.
For his part, Mohammed Al-Marzouqi, a displaced person affected in the Al-Azan camp, says to "Khuyut" that it's imperative for the official government authorities in Al-Jawf Governorate and the humanitarian organizations to fulfill their humanitarian obligations and aid the displaced families affected by this catastrophe. He emphasized that the camp residents are eagerly awaiting for any entity to fulfill its humanitarian mandate and provide them with the essential supplies needed for survival, highlighting the tragic situation endured by families within the camps.
Ongoing Suffering Amid Weather Fluctuations
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) forecasts a continued rise in temperatures, which may reach between 37 and 40 degrees Celsius in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions (Al-Hodeida, Taiz, Aden, Lahj, and Abyan). The organization warns that the high temperatures will heavily deplete soil moisture, adversely affecting vegetation cover. Additionally, these temperatures will negatively impact livestock and milk production, increasing the susceptibility to diseases and parasites.
In addition, the Yemeni Meteorological Authority warned in mid-April that citizens should expect heavy rainfall in coastal areas along with rising temperatures, leaving the displaced to find themselves between the anvil of suffering and the hammer of the harsh reality that has befallen them over the past years, surrendering to disasters without having any means to escape.
On the other hand, a report issued on April 25 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) affirmed that nearly 90% of internally displaced persons in Yemen are unable to meet their daily food needs due to worsening vulnerabilities and erosion of resilience after nine years of conflict. Additionally, the UNHCR highlights the exacerbation of the suffering of displaced families in Yemen on social and economic levels. The results of assessments conducted last year indicate that only 11% of internally displaced persons can meet their daily food needs, while 89% of them are unable to cover their food requirements, further worsening vulnerabilities and erosion of resilience and adaptive capacity among them.
