DHAKA: A rare tropical cyclone has hit the remote Yemeni island of Socotra, killing at least one person before heading towards the Yemeni mainland.

Many residents took shelter in schools and caves as the storm, named Chapala, brought hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and powerful waves to the island.

Photos and videos posted online showed water flowing through the streets of the provincial capital, Hadibu.

It is believed to be the most powerful storm that Yemen has seen in decades, reports the BBC.

The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation described the cyclone as ‘extremely severe’, and said that sea conditions around the centre of the storm were ‘phenomenal’.

At 06:00 GMT on Monday, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre reported that Chapala was generating gusts of up to 240km/h, equivalent to a category 4 hurricane.

Gusts of up to 165 km/h are forecast for when the storm makes landfall just west of the city of Mukalla, on the south coast of the Yemeni mainland, at around 06:00 GMT on Tuesday.

The cyclone could deluge parts of the country with up to 500mm (20in) of rain in two days - 10 times the annual average.

Socotra is situated 368km south of the coast of Yemen in the Arabian Sea, to the east of Somalia.

BDST: 2112 HRS, Nov 02, 2015
RR