Close to 200,000 displaced by floods in Somalia-OCHA

About 200,000 people have been displaced by floods in Somalia with Hiiraan region most affected, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA has said.

In its weekly update, OCHA said Monday an estimated 182,000 had so far been displaced countrywide by the floods which started last week affecting the riverine regions in Hiiraan, Middle Juba and Gedo. Other affected areas are Banaadir and South-West state.

“An estimated 182,000 people have been displaced thus far due to flooding, according to UNHCR-Protection Return Monitoring Network (PRMN). Farmland, infrastructure and roads have been destroyed, and livelihoods disrupted in some of the worst-hit areas, the October 28 flash update report indicates.

Belet Weyne town is the most affected with displacements recorded at 164,000 the report says noting as of Monday, 85% of the town had been inundated by floods. Three people including two children aged 10 years drowned.

A boat carrying a humanitarian relief team capsized Monday and by evening, two bodies of the ten missing were recovered. The remaining eight who were on board have not been accounted for yet. The worst affected areas in Belet Weyne town include Kooshin and Haawo Taako

In South West, heavy rains in Berdale district town of Bay and over flow from the Juba River has caused flash flooding affecting an estimated 30,000 people including 12,000 children. Over 30 trucks loaded with commercial goods destined for surrounding districts are now stranded in the town following the ongoing rains, the report says.

People in IDP camps in Banaadir region which covers the capital Mogadishu have also been affected by the floods. According to the report, 3,000 people have been displaced while 170 shelters and 210 latrines in Kahda district were destroyed by heavy rains.

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