Tuesday July 18, 2023
FILE PHOTO - Local people wade through floodwater after bursting of a river in Beledweyne, central Somalia, May 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Hassan Bashi)
MOGADISHU (Xinhua) -- The United Nations humanitarian agency said on Monday it has stepped up assistance to people affected by the recent floods in Somalia after the death of about 30 people.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that a credible risk of famine persists among displaced and pastoral populations in the areas that were worst impacted by the recent drought.
"The Gu (April to June) seasonal floods have affected over 468,000 people with about 30 dead, displacing at least 247,000 from their homes, damaging infrastructure and inundating thousands of hectares of land across Somalia," OCHA said in its latest update issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
The update came amid calls from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for anticipatory action to save lives and livelihoods ahead of El Nino. The UN agency warned that up to 1.2 million people could be affected and 1.5 million hectares of land is at high risk of inundation.
According to the FAO, meteorological models from global and regional agencies show strong confidence in increased rainfall over the eastern parts of the Horn of Africa and other climatic changes during these weather phenomena.
OCHA said the devastating impact of floods is continuing, adding that during the reporting period, two teenage girls reportedly drowned in flood water in Warcise village, east of Jowhar in southwest Somalia.
According to OCHA, more than 30 villages remain cut off by floods east of Jowhar and are only accessible by boat.