Cyclone Mekunu pummels Yemeni island, 17 missing

Seventeen people were missing and hundreds of others evacuated from their homes yesterday after Cyclone Mekunu hit the Yemeni island of Socotra, causing severe flooding and damage, officials said.

Neighbouring Oman is preparing for landfall today, with national weather experts expecting Mekunu to intensify to a category two cyclone from category one, after it hit Socotra on Wednesday night.