Foreign

Flood Sacks over 700,000 from homes, Kills 50 in Somalia

By Web News 337

Flash flooding in Somalia has killed 50 people and driven nearly 700,000 from their homes, a government official said.

 With heavy rains starting Tuesday, it is expected to worsen the country’s plight.

The Horn of Africa region is experiencing torrential rainfall and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, claiming dozens of lives and causing large-scale displacement, including in Somalia, where the downpours have destroyed bridges and inundated residential areas.

“Fifty people died in the disaster… while 687,235 people were forced to flee their houses,” Somali Disaster Management Agency Director Mohamud Moalim Abdullahi said at a press briefing on Monday.

“The expected rains between 21st and 24th of November… may cause more flooding which could cause death and destruction,” he added.

On Saturday, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said the number of people displaced by heavy rains and floods in Somalia “has nearly doubled in one week”, while 1.7 million people overall have been affected by the disaster.

“In addition, roads, bridges and airstrips have been damaged in several areas, affecting the movement of people and supplies and leading to increased prices of basic commodities,” OCHA said.

British charity Save the Children on Thursday said more than 100 people, including 16 children, had died and more than 700,000 forced from their homes in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia due to flash flooding.

The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity.

The region is emerging from the worst drought in four decades after multiple failed rainy seasons that left millions of people in need and devastated crops and livestock.

Humanitarian groups have warned that the situation is only likely to worsen and called for urgent global intervention as El Nino is expected to last until at least April 2024.

Punch/ Oluwayemisi Owonikoko

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Foreign

Flash Floods Claim 8 Lives Overnight in Italy

By Web News 559

At least eight people have died after flash floods hit the Italian region of Marche overnight, authorities said.

Torrential rain falling late on Thursday caused rivers and streams to overflow and inundate coastal towns around the regional capital of Ancona.

Around 400mm of rain – half a year’s worth – were recorded in just a few hours.

Rescuers are still searching for four others, including a child who was separated from his mother when a river burst its banks.

According to one local report, a mother who managed to escape her car with her child in her arms became separated from him after being overwhelmed by water when the River Misa burst its banks.

Emergency workers managed to rescue the woman overnight but her six-year-old child is one of several still missing, local outlets report.

More than 180 firefighters are assisting in the rescue efforts, evacuating people who overnight were forced to climb up trees or get onto their roofs to escape the rising water.

Some of the rescuers used dinghy rafts and helicopters to reach trapped families, footage shows.

An unusually dry summer left nearby lands parched in the coastal area and unable to absorb the copious volumes of water falling down.

Local Mayor Ludovico Caverni said “It was like an earthquake.”  

Local officials explained that the ensuing flash floods took everyone by complete surprise.

“We were given a normal alert for rain, but nobody had expected anything like this,” Marche regional official Stefano Aguzzi told reporters.

BBC/ Oluwayemisi Owonikoko

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Environment

Delta Brings Succour to Flood, Fire Disaster Victims

By Web News 779

The Delta State Government says it has approved financial compensation for one hundred and thirty victims of natural disaster in the state in line with its commitment to ensuring the welfare of all Deltans.

The State Commissioner Bureau for Special Duties, Mr. Omamofe Pirah stated this in Asaba, during the presentation of relief assistance to victims of market fire disaster in Ogwashi-Uku, and those affected by flash floods at Igbodo in Ika North East area of the state.

Oghenero Eghweree completes the report.

Oghenero Eghweree