A state of emergency has been declared in Somalia in areas where torrential rains have caused flooding that claimed at least 14 lives, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday, citing Somali Disaster Management Agency.
According to OCHA, more than 706,100 people have been temporarily affected, with over 113,690 people temporarily displaced from their homes across the country.
The agency cited Southwest and Jubaland states as the worst flood-hit states, accounting for more than 75% of the affected population. Puntland, Galmudug, and Hirshabelle states were also struck by flooding.
Thousands of people were trapped by floods in Luuq district of Jubaland state, OCHA added.
"Up to 400 families (2,400 people) are believed to be trapped by floods in Luuq and efforts are ongoing to urgently evacuate them," the report said, adding that the state of Jubaland accounted for five deaths.
The UN office added that people affected by the floods are in urgent need of food, shelter, non-food items, nutrition and health care, and warned that some key roads have been cut.
Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmad Jama said a day earlier that the government was making efforts to help the affected population. He added that local authorities and partners were trying to block the river in high-risk areas, but did not have enough sandbags.
Last month, OCHA said that East Africa was likely to experience above-normal rainfall from October to December due to the El Niño phenomenon. El Niño is a natural phenomenon associated with increasing heat waves around the world, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rainfall elsewhere.
In addition to Somalia, the phenomenon has also affected neighboring Ethiopia, where more than 20 people have died and more than 12,000 others have been displaced from their homes in the Somali region, according to local officials.