Local Editor

A rare and rapidly intensifying cyclone killed one person and injured nine on the Yemeni island of Socotra on Sunday as it moved toward the war-ravaged country’s mainland, local security officials said.

Cyclone Chapala seriously damaged or destroyed at least 20 homes on the island, the officials said.

The island is being hit by heavy rain and strong winds, and rising waves are battering the coast. Coastal areas are flooded, the officials said.

The island lies some 368 kilometers off Yemen’s mainland and is known for its unique vegetation and ecosystems.

The United Nations [UN] weather agency said on Friday that Cyclone Chapala could dump more than a year’s worth of rainfall on the arid, impoverished and war-torn country.

The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System forecasts the storm will make landfall in Yemen around midday Tuesday. It said that up to 390,000 people could be affected by the wind speeds, and 3,500 people residing in coastal areas could be affected by storm surge.

In the midst of the massive storm, Yemen has been under deadly military strikes by Saudi Arabia on a daily basis since late March. The airstrikes have not been authorized by the United Nations [UN].