Death Toll from Somalia Flood Rises to 110
The death toll from Somalia’s ongoing floods has risen to 110.
The United Nations (UN) humanitarian agency UN Ocha said on Sunday that more than one million people have been displaced and 2.4 million people impacted across 36 districts.
UN Ocha also warned of a high risk of disease spread following reports of suspected cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhea in the states of Hirshabelle and Galmudug.
The agency added that only 30% of those impacted have received help, but at least 37 boats have been deployed to deliver supplies or evacuate those trapped by the flood water.
In recent weeks, Somalia and neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia have experienced the heaviest rains in more than two decades, causing fatalities, displacement, and widespread destruction.
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The floods are caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, which occurs due to the Pacific Ocean warming.
According to the OCHA, concern continues to grow over the likely spread of water-borne diseases with suspected cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD)/cholera being reported in Hirshabelle and Galmudug states.
An outbreak would pose a significant threat to communities with limited healthcare facilities, it warned.
The agency said humanitarians, authorities, and local communities have assisted at least 820,000 people, about 30 percent of those affected.
It said light rain is forecast over the coastal areas of Middle Shabelle Lower Juba, and Banadir until Dec. 5, and dry conditions over the rest of the country and Ethiopian highlands.
It however said water levels remain high along the Shabelle River basin, with flooding reported in several areas.
Twenty villages to the east of Jowhar town in Hirshabelle State are reportedly inundated. Mahaday town, which has been deluged for a month, has seen its sanitation facilities and some houses collapse, the OCHA said.
According to humanitarian agencies, the floods are the latest in a series of extreme weather events in recent years to hit Somalia, where communities find themselves at the sharp end of the global climate crisis.
