Sub-Saharan Africa
Sputnik brings you all the most recent information, major events, heroes and views, including breaking news, images, videos, analyses, and features.

Somali President Says Floods Claim Over a Hundred Lives, Displace Million People

© Photo Twitter / @CelestinFranzFloods in Somalia
Floods in Somalia - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 30.11.2023
Subscribe
Since early November, the El Niño weather phenomenon has brought relentless downpours to East African countries, flooding homes and farmland. The disaster comes on the heels of a record drought that has left millions of Somalis on the brink of famine.
The floods in Somalia killed 101 people, displaced another million, and destroyed 140,000 homes, killed 4,000 livestock, and destroyed vital infrastructure, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told state media.
The government has set up a special committee to coordinate relief efforts, and it is working hard to reach the victims who need shelter, food and medicine, the leader added.
Urging the public to mobilize and join the rescue operations, he said that the Somali people "are resilient and can overcome this challenge." The call for assistance has also reached national and international organizations.

"The President [...] has appealed for humanitarian aid from both national and international organizations to help the millions of people affected by the catastrophic floods in the country," the state media reported.

The leader also thanked the countries and organizations that have already responded to the crisis and expressed in hope that more aid will come soon.
At least 34 districts in Somalia have been affected by heavy rains and flooding since October, mostly in the southern regions, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated in a brief statement issued a day earlier.

The most affected areas of the country are the south-central state of Hirshabelle, as well as and the Southwest and Jubaland states, OCHA revealed.

In addition to Somalia, deadly floods caused by El Niño have also hit Kenya and Ethiopia. On Tuesday, the Kenyan government announced that the death toll from the floods had nearly doubled to 120, with more than 89,000 families displaced and now living in more than 112 camps.
Earlier this month, OCHA said that 43 people had died in Ethiopia as a result of floods, heavy rainfall and landslides.
Africa, Earth - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 10.11.2023
Last 12 Months Hottest in History, Climate Research Group Says
El Niño is usually associated with an increase in heat waves around the world, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rainfall elsewhere. El Niño was last observed in 2018-2019 and was followed by an exceptionally long La Nina, the opposite of El Niño's cooling, which ended earlier this year.
Newsfeed
0