SANAA: Flooding and lightning strikes in Yemen have killed eight civilians, an official and a doctor told AFP on Saturday, underscoring the threat of extreme weather in the war-ravaged country.
The lightning strikes occurred on Friday in the Al-Layha and Al-Zahra districts of Hodeida governorate on the Red Sea coast, said Hamza Saied, a doctor at the hospital in Al-Layha.
“Six women and a man were killed, and three others were injured,” he said.
Also on Friday, flooding killed one woman and destroyed dozens of homes in the nearby town of Hais, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
Hais is located in territory controlled by the internationally recognized government based in the southern city of Aden.
Extreme weather has displaced more than 200,000 people in Yemen so far this year, “many of whom had already been displaced multiple times,” the UN Population Fund reported earlier this week.
“Heavy rain is now forecast to affect nearly 2 million displaced people over the coming weeks, threatening lives and livelihoods across multiple communities,” it said.
The nearly decade-long war has left infrastructure in tatters across Yemen.
Flooding, lightning strikes kill 8 in war-hit Yemen
https://arab.news/rvdvs
Flooding, lightning strikes kill 8 in war-hit Yemen
- The lightning strikes occurred on Friday in the Al-Layha and Al-Zahra districts of Hodeida governorate
- Six women and a man were killed, and three others were injured
Amman ranks among world’s top cities after first Quality of Life Index
- Jordanian capital second Arab city to be ranked in UN-backed index after Saudi Arabia’s Madinah
AMMAN: Jordan’s capital Amman has completed its first Quality of Life Index, ranking among the world’s leading cities to be assessed under the globally recognized framework, it was reported on Monday.
As a result, the city has become only the second in the Arab world — after Saudi Arabia’s Madinah — to be ranked in the program.
The Greater Amman Municipality said the city placed 10th globally out of 100 participating cities, with its index set to be officially listed on the international Quality of Life platform, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The assessment was developed in collaboration with the Quality of Life Initiative of the UN Human Settlements Programme — known as UN-Habitat — to advance urban well-being and human-centered development.
The Quality of Life Index combines objective data with residents’ perceptions, using global well-being indicators alongside local measures, offering a comprehensive picture of daily life.
The index measures performance across nine key areas: basic services, mobility, culture and recreation, education, environment, economy, governance, health and well-being, and housing and social cohesion.
Yousef Shawarbeh, the mayor of Amman, said the initiative aimed to support the city’s long-term vision of becoming a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable urban center, Petra reported.
He added that the index provided deeper insight into residents’ lived experiences and would help guide policymaking to improve quality of life.
Akram Khraisat, director of the Amman Urban Observatory, said the city’s participation marked a major step toward data-driven urban planning.
He added that the index would enable the municipality to better prioritize services, promote inclusive development, and assess the impact of policies on residents’ well-being, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Officials said the initiative complemented a range of ongoing development projects in the capital, including public transport improvements, participatory greening and urban agriculture schemes, climate action planning, digital transformation initiatives and the Greater Amman Municipality Strategic Plan 2022–2026.
