At least eight dead by the floods of the last hours in Yemen

SANA, 24 Jul. (DPA/EP) -

At least eight people have died in recent hours in Yemen as heavy rains have hit a country already devastated by war and famine.

Floods swept away a car in the southwestern province of Dhamar and eventually drowned all six occupants inside, the head of the provincial emergency services, Nashwan al-Samawi, told the Saba news agency, which is controlled by Yemeni rebels.

In Yemen's capital, Sana'a, under insurgent control since late 2014, two children were crushed to death when part of their house collapsed as a result of heavy rains.

The torrential rains that hit both the capital and surrounding areas since Saturday night have paralyzed traffic on several roads, local residents have told DPA.

The United Nations considers the conflict in Yemen a humanitarian disaster that has brought the country to the brink of collapse and has greatly damaged national infrastructure.

In April, a UN-brokered national truce went into effect in Yemen; a ceasefire agreed by the government and the Houthi insurgency and renewed in June for another two months.