According to the latest balance sheet provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 23 people have died as a result of the first torrential rains of the rainy season in Somalia, bringing the total number of people affected by the floods to nearly 100,000.

The agency stated that “three weeks after the early onset of the Gu rains — which usually occur between April and June — in Somalia, nearly 100,000 people have been affected by torrential rains and floods in many areas,” before going on to say that 21 deaths have been recorded in the district of Bardhere, in the Jubalandia region.

Thus, he stated that six children were killed and that 78,000 people are affected in Bardhere, where approximately 9,000 families’ homes have been destroyed or damaged. “The floods also destroyed six health facilities, 200 latrines, and four schools,” he said, adding that “over a thousand hectares” of countryside had been flooded.

The OCHA stated that two people died as a result of the floods in the regions of Togdhir and Audal (north), before claiming that “the moderate and heavy rains in Ethiopia’s highlands are the main cause of the increase in the flow in the rivers Shabelle and Yuba.” The Yuba River is at high risk of flooding this week,” the agency warned.

It has, on the other hand, emphasized that the rains and floods come after five seasons of drought that have displaced over 1.4 million people and killed 3.8 million livestock since mid-2021. “While the rains and river waters will provide some relief to drought-affected communities, the elongated nature of the drought and projections show a 50% chance of below-normal Gu rains.”