First modification:
Ethiopia and Somalia are still unable to control the flooding in some areas that have been occurring since March. There are already 83 dead and more than 100,000 civilians had to leave their homes in Ethiopian territory, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. While around 200,000 Somalis also had to migrate due to heavy flooding.
The situation in Ethiopia that occurred a couple of months ago due to the appearance of intense floods continues to deepen, reported the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The international entity reported that 83 people have died since then and approximately 100,000 have been displaced.
OCHA added that the regions most affected by flooding “overlap” with those that suffered from severe drought before the onset of this phenomenon.
Ethiopia experienced in 2020 the worst depletion recorded in the Horn of Africa in the last 40 years. Last March, the World Health Organization noted that up to 43,000 people may have died last year in the African region due to drought.
“Recent and unusual flooding has caused widespread destruction and displacement, exacerbating humanitarian needs,” OCHA said. The southeast, center, south, southwest, and northwest are the multiple affected regions.
Along with the humanitarian difficulties that have appeared, the alarms are also set off by the possible expansion of diseases such as cholera in a country that has detected various outbreaks in the recent past.
? Somalia
Nearly 219,000 people have been displaced by floods caused by heavy rains since mid-March.
Although the dry spell might be over, these rains will not counter the devastation left by the worst drought in four decades.https://t.co/qCbpdvbnYE pic.twitter.com/uyVD4tL9lK
— OCHA Southern & Eastern Africa (@UNOCHA_ROSEA) May 16, 2023
In addition to cholera, OCHA warned of measles nests, “an increase in malaria cases in areas hit by floods”, in a context where “vulnerability” deepened.
Although the rains have spoiled tens of thousands of hectares of crops and killed thousands of domestic animals, conditions for agricultural activities have also improved, as well as access to water for people and livestock in the less damaged sectors.
Somalia, another country affected by floods
The rainy season that began in mid-March forced 200,000 Somalis to flee their homes, OCHA said on Sunday.
The United Nations entity said in a statement that “initial estimates indicate that at least 460,470 people have been affected, of whom about 219,000 have been displaced from their homes and 22 have died in 17 districts since mid-March.”
Hirshabelle (in the center-south) and Jubaland (in the southeast) are the two states most affected by the rains, which also flooded land, crops, animals and forced the closure of schools and health centers.
with EFE
