At least 21 dead in Somalia’s flash floods, says U.N. agency

By OMAR FARUK
Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian agency says that at least 21 people, including six children, have died in Somalia’s flash flooding over the last week. According to the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 100,000 people have been affected by the heavy rains and flash floods in the Bardhere district of the Gedo region of southern Somalia. The region neighbors Ethiopia where heavy rains are causing rising water levels in the Shabelle and Juba rivers. The Somalia National Disaster Management Agency said Wednesday that health facilities have been destroyed by the flash flooding. The agency’s strategic policy and partnership advisor Mohamed Moalim told The Associated Press that communities living near rivers have been warned they are at risk.