UN disaster, coordination team deployed to help relief efforts in Yemen

A UN Disaster and Coordination (UNDAC) team consisting of 11 people has been deployed to Oman by Thursday to support the response to Tropical Cyclone in neighboring Yemen, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"The primary task of the team is to evaluate setting up a relief supply chain from Oman into affected areas in Yemen," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "The team, which will be in Muscat tomorrow to start operations, will complement the response effort of over 900 UN staff already in Yemen."

Cyclone Chapala, the rare tropical storm that slammed into Yemen's southern coast Tuesday, dumped perhaps a year's worth of rain in some areas.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided 20,000 liters of diesel fuel to eight hospitals in Mukallah, and 2,500 liters of petrol for 16 ambulances.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and WHO surveillance rapid response teams are also being deployed. A WHO shipment by sea with an additional 18.3 metric tonnes of medical supplies and reproductive health kits is also being deployed from Djibouti to Aden, Yemen.

Cyclone Chapala made landfall in Yemen while fighting between the government and rebel Houthi forces in the country continues. The crisis has been an all-out conflict since March 2015, with a military operation launched by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia. Endit