Oman will close the country's second largest airport in Salalah starting midnight (2000 GMT) on Thursday for 24 hours due to a tropical storm, the Public Authority for Civil Aviation announced.

Yemen declared a state of emergency on Socotra on Thursday after the storm flooded several villages and left at least 17 people missing, government officials said. The storm is expected to hit southern Yemen and the coast of neighboring Oman on Thursday, Oman's state news agency reported.