Yemen floods kill 'at least 100'

(CNN) -- Severe flooding in Yemen has killed at least 100 people and displaced thousands more, according to the U.N. refugee agency and SABA, the country's official news agency.

SABA reported Tuesday that 100 people have lost their lives to the floods, which began after heavy rain poured down on the region last week.

Some 1,700 houses have been destroyed, leaving as many as 7,000 people homeless, the news agency said.

The country's largest province, Hadrmout, and its western neighbor, Maharah province, as well as some southern provinces, have been hardest hit, SABA said.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees put the death toll higher, at 180, citing the country's Ministry of Health. The agency also said about 2,000 homes had been destroyed, citing the ministry. See some of the destruction »

However, the agency said, "these figures cannot be confirmed as several areas remain inaccessible."

UNHCR said it and its regional partners had dispatched teams to the southern Yemeni city of Mukalla to provide emergency assistance.

The agency had already sent 11 trucks carrying mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets to the area, UNHCR said. The supplies were expected to help 3,500 people.

Additionally, two planes -- one from Oman and another from Libya -- carrying food, blankets and tents, arrived Tuesday, SABA said. A medical team had also arrived on one of the planes, the agency said.

Yemen, on the tip of the Arab peninsula, is on the U.N. list of least developed countries.

All About Yemen • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees