The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is mounting an urgent response to severe flooding that has swept across areas in Yemen. Hundreds of thousands people have been affected by flash floods, triggered by torrential rains, that have destroyed homes – including camps for already displaced families – and left farmland submerged.
Critical infrastructure such as roads, power lines, and water and sanitation facilities have been severely damaged, cutting off communities from essential services and forcing thousands into secondary displacement.
The IRC warns that with more heavy rain expected, the risk of further flooding threatens to displace even more families and cause additional suffering to vulnerable communities already at the epicenter of a devastating hunger crisis.
These extreme weather events—compounded by ongoing conflict and a collapsing economy—now risk disrupting agricultural production and cutting families off from both markets and humanitarian aid.
Children, the elderly, and displaced families face the greatest risk of rising hunger, while communities are also exposed to new dangers from water-borne diseases and explosive remnants of war unearthed by the floods.
In response to the floods, the IRC has launched emergency operations in the hardest-hit areas of Abyan, Lahj, Taiz and Aden. These governorates are also facing emergency levels of food insecurity, with families there experiencing severe food shortages and high levels of malnutrition.
While the full extent of the destruction is still being assessed, it is already clear that the toll on communities will be devastating. The IRC calls on the international community to stand in solidarity with those most affected by supporting both the urgent humanitarian response and long-term investments in climate-resilient agriculture, infrastructure, and livelihoods in Yemen.