Plant Production and Protection Division: Desert Locusts may take advantage of the recent Yemen floods

Desert Locusts may take advantage of the recent Yemen floods Unusually heavy rains and flooding in eastern Yemen and southern Oman in late October could cause Desert Locusts to increase as ecological conditions are expected to remain favourable for several months.

Torrential rains fell for 30 hours, starting late in the afternoon of Thursday 23 October and continuing throughout Friday, in coastal and interior areas of eastern Yemen. The remote regions of Hadhramaut and Mahara were mainly affected, especially along the coast near Mukallah and in the Wadi Hadhramaut Valley in the arid interior. Severe flash flooding occurred in many of the normally dry riverbeds (wadis), causing severe loss of property and life. External assistance and emergency services were mobilized immediately. The rains were associated with a tropical storm that formed in the Indian Ocean during the third week of October and moved west towards the Horn of Africa. On the 21st, it weakened and split into two tropical depressions, one that brought heavy rains to Puntland in northeast Somalia before crossing the Gulf of Aden and making landfall on the 23rd along the central and eastern portions of the southern coast of Yemen. The other tropical depression moved north to southern and central Oman where heavy rains fell mainly in coastal areas. The rains fell in areas that are traditional Desert Locust breeding habitats mainly during the spring and summer seasons. In the past, cyclones and tropical storms originating in the Indian Ocean have led to locust outbreaks in the Arabian Peninsula, some of which eventually developed into upsurges and plagues. Once the flood waters recede, ecological conditions are expected to become favourable and remain so for several months in Yemen and, to a lesser extent, in Oman. The green vegetation and moist soil will allow Desert Locusts to survive and breed. However, few locusts were thought to be in the region at the time of the rains and even fewer are likely to have been caught up in the winds associated with the depression in order to arrive into the affected areas. Nevertheless, countries are advised to remain alert and conduct frequent surveys in the coming months, and to keep FAO/DLIS informed as part of the Desert Locust early warning system that is in place in Africa and Asia.

Desert Locusts may take advantage of the recent Yemen floods

Unusually heavy rains and flooding in eastern Yemen and southern Oman in late October could cause Desert Locusts to increase as ecological conditions are expected to remain favourable for several months.

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