Thousands fled the coastal town of Mukalla, Yemen, as Cyclone Chapala, the first hurricane force storm to hit the country since records began, made landfall on Tuesday. Chapala reached the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane as it passed by Socotra island, killing one person in Mukalla wind gusts exceeded 100 mph, accompanied by heavy downpours triggering flooding and destroying buildings and submerging vehicles. The arid area normally gets about 50mm (1.9in) of rain annually. However, it is believed the storm dumped nearly 500mm in places, not far off 10 years' worth of rain, for parts of this area, falling in less than two days.