Eight dead, roads, power cut off as cyclone hits Bosaso, Hafun regions

GOOBJOOG|PUNTLAND: Eight people identified to be Yemeni refugees were killed Sunday night as cyclone Gati made landfall in Bosaso and Hafun regions in the Puntland state.

Hafun district commissioner Mohamed Yusuf Garow told Goobjoog News the heavy rains and winds hit the town Sunday evening destroying houses, roads and cutting off electricity. The dead are Yemeni nationals, Garow said.

In Bosaso, roads and electricity lines were cut off as houses were inundated in water. IDP  camps in the town were worst affected, sources in the town said.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned Sunday the cyclone was making way towards the eastern coast of Somalia which covers Puntland state. It added that more rains are expected during the week along the coastal parts of Bari, Sanaag, Woqooyi Galbeed and Awdal regions.

“The storm poses an immediate threat to the shipping lane that links Somalia and Gulf states,” FAO said.