'El Nino' is blamed for floods in Somalia and drought in Ethiopia

Wednesday December 9, 2015

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At least 145,200 people have been affected by flash floods since the onset of rainy season in October in Somalia, the UN humanitarian agency has said.

The UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest report received Monday that there has been a further reduction in rainfall in most areas of Juba and Shabelle basins inside Somalia as well as the Ethiopian highlands compared to the previous week. However, a few areas in Middle and Lower Shabelle regions received moderate rains.

"While the situation in many areas has returned to normal, an estimated 145,200 people have been affected by floods since the onset of the rainy season in October," OCHA said.

The report says that the risk of flooding along the lower reaches of Shabelle and Juba Rivers has been downgraded to moderate and minimal, respectively.

Health partners and facilities in some flood-affected regions have, however, reported increased cases of acute watery diarhoea (AWD) and malaria.

OCHA and relief partners are ramping up efforts to reach people in the flood-hit areas despite bad road conditions caused by flooding. Chlorine and hygiene kits, as well as essential drugs are either already distributed or being delivered to the outbreak-affected communities, OCHA said.

Some water wells in affected locations will also be chlorinated for disinfection, according to OCHA.

Experts have warned that the floods, which have made roads impassable and cut thousands off from aid, could reverse many of the humanitarian gains made in southern Somalia since 2011 when the Horn of Africa nation was devastated by famine.

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