CNN
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Despite the country experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, nearly 250,000 people were left homeless after floods caused the Shabelle River in central Somalia to burst its banks and submerge the village of Beledwayne, according to the Somali government. I had to leave.
Aid agencies and scientists have warned that climate change is one of the main factors accelerating humanitarian emergencies, and that those affected are among those least responsible for CO2 emissions.
Seasonal rains in the upper Somalia and Ethiopian highlands have caused flash floods, sweeping away homes, crops and livestock and temporarily closing schools and hospitals in Beledwayne, the capital of Hiran region, local residents said.
“At one point, the entire city was underwater. Beledwayne itself has become like the sea.” said store owner Ahmed Noor.
“I could only see the roof of the house. We used small boats and tractors to rescue people,” he said.
Noor was staying with relatives outside the city, who had been celebrating the end of a severe drought just a few weeks ago.
“It rained and we were happy. “People planted crops,” he said.
Drought, combined with violence caused by the war in Ukraine and soaring food prices, killed up to 43,000 people last year, according to UN statistics.
According to the United Nations Office for the Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), flooding has affected more than 460,000 people nationwide and killed 22 people since mid-March.
Somalia's Disaster Management Agency said more than 245,000 people have been displaced by flooding in the Beledwayne region.
“It will take time to recover from six consecutive seasons of reduced precipitation,” OCHA said in a May 14 report.
Rain recharges water sources and allows vegetation to regenerate, but much more rainfall will be needed to effectively mitigate the effects of recent droughts, OCHA said in a report.
After the series of disasters, at least one Beledwayne resident, Halima Abdullahi, said she had seen enough. They are one of 216 million people expected to be forced to migrate within their countries by 2050 due to climate problems, the World Bank said. stress.
“We are moving to a distant village,” said the mother of two. She said, “Belle Ledwayne no longer exists.”