Nairobi, April 14, (dpa/GNA) – More than 140,000 people in drought-stricken Somalia have had to flee their homes due to massive flooding since mid-March, according to UN figures.
In total, around 175,000 people have been affected by the floods, with the southern provinces of Gedo and Bay hardest hit, according to the UN Crisis Relief office on Thursday.
The flash floods are the result of the rainy season, which usually runs in the Horn of Africa from March to June.
The weather is likely to further aggravate the humanitarian situation. Cholera and other diseases that are transmitted through contaminated water are currently circulating in Somalia.
Despite the floods, the East African weather service ICPAC expects the current rainy season to be below average and warns that the nationwide severe drought won’t end with the wet weather.
Several rainy seasons in a row have failed to solve the drought crisis. The UN says almost 4 million cattle and goats have died as a result of the drought since mid-2021, and almost half of Somalia’s population of 17 million is suffering from food shortages.
GNA