At least 96 people have died in Somalia in floods caused by torrential rains that have hit the Horn of Africa country for several weeks, authorities announced Thursday.
• Also read: Floods in Somalia: 50 dead and 700,000 displaced
The Horn of Africa is facing torrential rains and floods linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which have claimed dozens of lives and led to widespread displacement, particularly in Somalia, where torrential rains destroyed bridges and flooded residential areas.
Somali authorities “were briefed by the Disaster Management Agency on the impact of the floods and confirmed that about 96 people died in the flash floods caused by the El Niño rains,” a government statement said , that “nearly two million people died.” People were affected by the disaster.”
An earlier report from the Somali Disaster Management Agency on Monday reported 50 dead and more than 700,000 displaced.
Given the scale of the disaster, authorities in Mogadishu declared a state of emergency on November 12th.
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most affected by climate change and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), at least 43 people have died in the floods in Ethiopia and more than 60 in Kenya.
The region is recovering from the worst drought in four decades, after several disappointing rainy seasons that left millions of people in need and destroyed crops and livestock.
El Niño, which is typically associated with rising temperatures, droughts in some parts of the world and heavy rains in others, is expected to last until April.
This meteorological phenomenon has already caused devastating damage in East Africa.
From October 1997 to January 1998, gigantic floods caused by torrential rains caused by El Niño claimed more than 6,000 lives in five countries in the region.