Second cyclone poised to hit Yemen

A second strong cyclone is projected to hit Yemen. Cyclone Megh, which formed and gained strength in the Arabian Sea, is set to make landfall early on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera said on Sunday that the cyclone could bring heavy flooding and landslides in a typically dry area.

Yemeni Minister of Fishing, Fahd Selim, said Mengh has killed at least one person and wreaked havoc when it hit Socotra Island, a small Yemeni archipelago located about 360km off the mainland.

Al Jazeera's weather forecaster added: "The storm strengthened significantly over the past 12 hours and now has sustained winds of 165 km/h, with gusts up to 200 km/h.

"This makes it the equivalent of a major category three hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale which is used to rate the strength of hurricanes in the waters around the Americas."

Weather Underground, an independent online meteorological agency, projects Megh to dramatically weaken to a tropical depression when it hits landfall.

The storm is projected to hit Aden.

Last week, Cyclone Chapala killed at least five people and caused widespread damage as it scraped Socotra Island.

Heavy rainfall, poor drainage and high waves are likely to cause severe flooding.

More than 50,000 Yemenis, including 18,000 on Socotra, were displaced because of Cyclone Chapala.

Fishing Minister Kavieen, who is from Socotra, pleaded for the UN and Oman to "urgently intervene with emergency teams to save residents" on the island "which is now facing a cyclone stronger than Chapala," AFP reported.