6 Killed on Socotra Island by Cyclone Megh; Yemen Landfall Possible Tuesday

As many as six people have been killed on Yemen's Socotra Island by the effects of Cyclone Megh, the second devastating tropical system to hit the island in a week.

Megh made a direct hit as the equivalent of a Category 2 or 3 hurricane Sunday. Though weakened, the storm could make landfall in mainland Yemen on Tuesday.

The French Press Agency confirmed through an official that six people have been killed on Socotra by Megh, and three others are missing. Most of the deceased were killed in structure collapses, the report added.

“Cyclone Megh is several times worse than Chapala because it is passing directly over Socotra,” Socotra environmental official Mohammed Alarqbi told Reuters.

People who returned to their seafront homes, already destroyed by Chapala, were forced to flee again, heading to government buildings or highlands as heavy floods returned, according to World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Clare Nulls.

Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kavieen has urged the United Nations and neighboring Oman to “urgently intervene with emergency teams” to help save residents on the island, Al Jazeera reports. 

“A storm of this strength is likely to cause widespread destruction, and is easily capable of damaging homes and snapping trees,” said Al Jazeera weather presenter Steff Gaulter. "The damage caused by Megh is likely to be extensive, particularly for an island which has been hit by a similar cyclone less than a week ago."

Back-to-back cyclones such as Chapala and Megh affecting Socotra Island within the span of a week is unprecedented in historical record. According to NOAA's historical hurricane tracks database, only once before on record have a pair of cyclones tracked within 200 nautical miles of Socotra Island within the same season.

At least three people were killed and more than 300 others were injured on Socotra after Chapala's landfall. The island suffered huge property loss and an estimated 2,000 people have been displaced.

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