Flash flooding caused by torrential rains has killed at least 20 people and displaced over 12,000. This was reported by the regional government of Ethiopia’s Somali region on Saturday.
According to jerrymusa.com Damage to animals, crops, and property has been recorded, and the deluge has wrecked bridges and roads, making it impossible to access affected households, according to a statement released by the Somali Regional State Communication Bureau.
Forecasts and increasing rains indicate that flooding is still likely to occur.
Last month, the UN’s humanitarian organisation OCHA predicted that from October to December, eastern Africa would get heavier-than-usual rainfall as a result of the El Nino phenomenon.
Increased global temperatures, drought in some areas, and heavy precipitation in others are all symptoms of El Nino, a naturally recurring cycle.
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe in the Horn of Africa, making it one of the most vulnerable locations to climate change.
The greatest drought in the region in 40 years has been hitting Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya since late 2020.
Two months of nonstop rain caused at least 265 deaths and tens of thousands of people to be displaced in numerous East African countries at the end of 2019.
Nearly two million people in Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda lost cattle as a result of the heavy rains.