Source: CCTV news client
The massive rainfall in Yemen has been going on for nearly a month, causing losses to people and property while also putting the UNESCO Unesco World Heritage Site of Sana'a in jeopardy. Some centuries-old houses have collapsed.
The deputy directorate of the protection of Yemen's historic cities, Dawud, told the Central Radio and Television General Station that in the torrential rain that lasted for nearly a month, an ancient building in the ancient city of Sana'a completely collapsed, and two other buildings partially collapsed, in addition to the collapse of the roofs of 11 ancient buildings, the partial collapse of the roofs of 49 ancient buildings, and the leakage of rain to varying degrees in 500 ancient buildings. Daoud said that due to the war that has lasted for many years, the people of Yemen have suffered from the decline of the whole country, and the residents of the ancient city of Sana'a are no exception, and the vast majority of people do not have the financial ability to strengthen and maintain the ancient buildings where they live. The ancient city of Sana'a is therefore in dire need of protection and assistance from governments and international organizations to avoid the complete disappearance of this common cultural heritage of mankind.
Yusuf, a resident of the ancient city of Sana'a: Here are the cracks, these are the cracks. It was a trace of the flow of water, and the plaster was washed away from the inside. It's not that I don't care about the house, the recent torrential rains have made the house worse and worse and we're all about to become homeless.
The ancient city of Sana'a, Yemen, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986, and the United Nations also asked the Yemeni authorities to maintain the traditional architectural style and urban design layout of the ancient city of Sana'a. The relevant departments also require the owners of ancient buildings to maintain the house frequently to prevent rain leakage, water leakage, wall cracking and other phenomena. In order to cope with the leakage caused by heavy rains, many residents of the ancient city can only use plastic sheets and rain cloths to temporarily cover the leaking roofs.
According to the statistics of yemen's General Directorate for the Protection of Historic Cities, there are currently 11,777 houses in the ancient city of Sana'a, and from the early days of sanaa construction thousands of years ago to the present, the ancient city of Sana'a is still in its original position. The ancient city of Sana'a is not only a proud history in the hearts of all Yemenis, but also a common cultural heritage of all mankind. However, the roof leak coincided with overnight rain, and the ancient city of Sana'a in the war was hit by torrential rains, coupled with the lack of funds, so that the ancient city of Sana'a was in danger.
Local UNESCO Representative Ahmed Ruba: The Yemeni government's budget has been severely short, and now there is another war, making the situation in the ancient city of Sana'a even worse. The airstrikes against Sana'a lasted a long time. Earlier explosions destabilized the ancient city and shaken the foundations, making the situation worse this time by heavy rains that had occurred once in decades.