Cyclone Mekunu pounds Yemeni island of Socotra

Dubai, May 24: The Yemeni island of Socotra has been pounded by Cyclone Mekunu, which is on a path to strike Oman this weekend. India's Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a bulletin on Thursday that the storm was some 190 kilometers, or 118 miles, east-northeast of Socotra Island.

The department said the storm, now described as "very severe," was some 475 kilometers —about 295 miles — off the coast of Salalah, one of Oman's biggest cities.

There was no immediate word from Socotra. The island, listed by UNESCO as a world natural heritage site, has been the focus of a dispute between the United Arab Emirates and Yemen's internationally recognized government amid that country's war.

Saudi troops recently deployed there. Meteorologists anticipate the storm making landfall near Salalah and neighboring Yemen on Saturday morning.

PTI