ALBAWABA - Government officials in Somalia reported that flash floods killed more than 50 people so far, driving 700,000 people out of their homes with heavy rains starting Tuesday and expected to worsen over the upcoming days.
The Horn of Africa region is experiencing torrential rainfall and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, claiming dozens of lives and causing large-scale displacement, including in Somalia, where the downpours have destroyed bridges and inundated residential areas, AFP reported.
Somali Disaster Management Agency director Mohamud Moalim Abdullahi said at a press briefing on Monday: "Fifty people died in the disaster... while 687,235 people were forced to flee their houses,".
"The expected rains between 21st and 24th of November... may cause more flooding which could cause death and destruction," Abdullahi added.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warned on Saturday that the number of those affected by the rains has exceeded 1.7 million people, while the number of people displaced by heavy rains and floods in Somalia "has nearly doubled in one week,".
"In addition, roads, bridges, and airstrips have been damaged in several areas, affecting the movement of people and supplies and leading to increased prices of basic commodities," OCHA added in the statement.
Due to flash floods, British NGO Save the Children reported that more than 100 people, including 16 children, had died and more than 700,000 were forced from their homes in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.
The African Horn region has just recently started to recover from the worst drought in four decades after multiple failed rainy seasons that left millions of people in need and devastated crops and livestock.
Humanitarian groups have warned that the situation is only likely to worsen and called for urgent global intervention as El Nino is expected to last until at least April 2024.
