Tens of residents in Kahlan district in Hajja have been displaced from the area after six people died in landslides Friday morning, according to Hadi Wardan, a member of the Hajja Local Council.

"People are afraid that landslides may happen again, particularly because of heavy rain in the area," Wardan said.

He said charity associations have provided camps and food for the displaced people in response to the landslides. He also condemned the absence of the government and of concerned authorities in helping those residents affected by the disaster.

Hajja is located northwest of Sana'a.

Majed Al-A'war, a Hajja resident, said four women died in the landslides, and others were taken to hospital. The women were buried immediately, on Friday afternoon.

Al-A'war said the landslide happened while the women were performing the Fajr (Down) prayer. When their bodies were found, they were wearing prayer clothing.

Doctor Ayman Ahmed Mathkoor, general manager of Health Office in Hajja governorate, said a team of doctors rushed to the scene and worked to save tens of people caught in the landslide.

"Heavy rain in the area caused rocks to slide from the mountain located under Kahlan fortress," Mathkoor said.

Elsewhere, official sources said two people died and tens were injured in landslides Thursday in Al-Mahweet governorate, in northern Yemen.

Doctor Ahmed Saif, a geology professor at Sana'a University, said sedimentary rocks spread widely in Yemen. They slide due to heavy rain.

More than 70 percent of Yemen is mountainous and reaches 3,666 meters above sea level. There are many cracks in these mountains that can cause landslides, according to Saif.

Saif said the government must make citizens aware that they should not build under slopes and hanging rocks, particularly in Hajja and Mahweet.