SANAA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Last month's floods in Yemen caused about $1 billion in damages to roads, houses and agriculture, according to a World Bank estimate cited by a Yemeni state-run website on Thursday. The estimate was part of a report, presented to a meeting of donors to the poor Arab state, which said health care and water facilities were also damaged in the flooding, said the September 26 website (www.26sep.net). U.N. agencies said earlier that at least 180 people had died or were missing in the floods following torrential rains which destroyed or damaged about 2,000 houses, leaving more than 10,000 people homeless. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and its government is grappling with a rebellion in the north, unrest in the south and a resurgence of al Qaeda, while a growing number of Somali refugees stretch its resources to the limit. Situated at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen is prone to flooding during the monsoon season. (For more information on humanitarian crises and issues visit www.alertnet.org) (Reporting by Mohammed Sudam; writing by Firouz Sedarat)
A truck transports pigs along a flooded street in Hanoi's Hadong city November 6, 2008. Hanoi is facing the threat of dangerous epidemics after the heavy floods hit the capital in ...
