The storm led to severe rain and flooding over the eastern governorates of Yemen – Hadramout and Al-Mahara – for about 30 hours, resulting in total rainfall of almost 91 mm (versus 5-6 mm in normal periods). Given thetopography of mountainous terrain, flat valleys and riverbeds, this large quantity of water in the catchment area led to severe flash floods in the valleys, with water-surges exceeding ten meters in some areas. This area had experienced major floods before but the 2008 flood is considered the most devastating and led to one of the worst natural disasters to hit Yemen in the past two decades. The affected governorates of Hadramout and Al-Mahara were declared disaster areas on October 27, 2008. Overall, 73 people died, about 25,000 people were displaced, and around 650,000 people were affected.
On October 27th, 2008, the Government of Yemen (GOY) requested the international community’s support to assess the damages, losses and post-disaster needs and to join reconstruction and recovery efforts. The World Bank, with the financial and technical support from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), quickly responded to the government’s request and fielded a large multi-sectoral team of experts joined by major international agencies.
The resulting joint damage, loss and needs assessment (DLNA) report, prepared jointly by a team led by The World Bank (WB) and including the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR), the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent (IFRCC), and the Government of Yemen (GOY) estimated the damages and losses to infrastructure, shelter, and livelihoods at US$1,638 million or about 6% of Yemen’s GDP. It was also estimated that the loss of livelihood for half the population in the two Governorates would increase the poverty rate in these two Governorates from 28 to 51 percent, and the national poverty rate by 1.1 percent. The financial requirement for recovery and reconstruction was estimated at US $1,064.51 million. The estimate includes financial cost for (i) short-term recovery to meet urgent necessities of affected population; (ii) long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction to restore agriculture, housing, transportation and other affected sectors; and (iii) disaster risk reduction program.
On the basis of the PDNA, the Bank mobilized $35 million in exceptional grant funds in order to assist Yemen to rehabilitate and rebuild critically damaged infrastructure, and ensuring that the new infrastructure is disaster proof. GFDRR’s timely support led to the creation of Hadramout Reconstruction and Recovery Fund, leveraging more than $200 million from national, regional and international donors to rebuild damaged infrastructure and restore affected livelihoods.