Beledweyne – AFP
About 200,000 people have been displaced by floods in central Somalia, according to a regional official, on Saturday, after the Shebelle River overflowed.
Residents of Beledweyne town in Hiran region were forced to leave their homes after heavy rains caused the water level to rise sharply, carrying their belongings over their heads as they walked through the flooded streets in search of shelter.
“So far, about 200,000 people have been displaced due to the flooding of the Shebil River in the town of Beledweyn, and the number may increase at any time,” said Ali Othman Hussein, deputy governor of social affairs in the Hiran region. “We are doing our best to help those affected,” he added.
For his part, the deputy governor of the region, Hassan Ibrahim Abdullah, said, “Three people died in the floods.”
The disaster follows a record drought that has brought millions of Somalis to the brink of starvation, while the volatile country has also been battling a decades-old insurgency. Residents said they were forced to leave their homes in the middle of the night earlier this week as water poured into streets and buildings. Farton said it was the fifth time she had fled floods in Beledweyne. “When the river overflows, we run away,” explained the 35-year-old mother of eight.
East and Central Africa often witness severe weather conditions during the rainy seasons.
Earlier this month, 135 people were killed and more than 9,000 displaced after heavy rains hit Rwanda, causing floods and landslides in many parts of the country. More than 400 people were killed by torrential rains, floods and landslides last week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
