The death toll from flash flooding caused by torrential rains in Somalia has risen to 50, with nearly 700,000 people driven from their homes, according to a government official, Aljazeera reports.
With more heavy rains starting on Tuesday, the plight of people in the country is expected to worsen, he said.
“Fifty people died in the disaster … while 687,235 people were forced to flee their houses,” Mohamud Moalim Abdullahi, the director of the Somali Disaster Management Agency, said at a news conference on Monday.
“The expected rains between 21st and 24th of November … may cause more flooding which could cause death and destruction.”
The Horn of Africa region is experiencing heavy downpours and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, killing dozens of people and causing large-scale displacement, including in Somalia, where the rains have destroyed bridges and inundated residential areas.
The floods and extreme rains have resulted in “catastrophic” consequences for hundreds of thousands who have lost their homes and properties, or their animals and crops, the International Rescue Committee said in a statement on Monday, adding that more than 1.7 million people are in “urgent need”.
“With above-normal rainfall expected to persist until the end of 2023, this will exacerbate the already grave humanitarian situation, whereby 4.3 million people, a quarter of the population are expected to face crisis-level hunger or worse by the end of 2023,” the aid agency added.
NGO World Vision said the current floods have destroyed homes, schools and roads, leaving children without basic needs such as shelter, food and drinking water.
PR
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