Flooding in East Africa

Widespread flooding in the countries of East Africa has caused over a hundred deaths and over 700,000 people displaced from their homes. The floods have killed livestock and submerged farmlands and trapped people in affected regions as the rising waters make it hard for rescue teams to come to their aid. 

The flooding was caused by heavy rainfall throughout the countries of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. According to an article from National Geographic, El Niño is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. El Niño often produces severe climate changes, such as increased precipitation. This can lead to increased rainfall and coastal flooding. These rains and floods can destroy homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses, limit transportation, and destroy crops. This is what has been happening recently in parts of the Horn of Africa. 

As of a report made on November sixth by Flood List, the floods have affected more than 706,100 people in Somalia, mainly in the South West, Hirshabelle, Jubaland, and Galmudug states. South West and Jubaland have been the most affected. Authorities have been scrambling to evacuate up to four hundred families (2,400 people) trapped by floods in the Luuq district. In a report made on November eighth, “following days of heavy torrents, at least twenty-nine people have been killed and more than 300,000 have fled their homes for safety, as reported by Somalia’s National Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA).”  

In Ethiopia, many families in the Somali region have been affected by the floods and rain. Flood damage to bridges and roads have hindered aid and humanitarian relief as families are displaced and their livelihoods are washed away as buildings, crops, and livestock are all damaged in the floods. According to an update on November sixteenth by the NGO Save the Children, at least thirty-three people have died due to the flooding in the Somali region of Ethiopia. 

Kenya has also been hit hard by the storms and floods. According to a November fourteenth Floodlist update, nineteen of the country’s forty-seven counties have been affected by the flooding. The Kenya Red Cross Society has said that at least four thousand families have been forced to evacuate from their homes, and that at least one thousand livestock animals were killed. Agricultural farmland has also been negatively affected as around ninety-seven  hectares of farmland were destroyed in the downpour. Currently some of the most affected counties are the Samburu, Wajir, Isiolo, Marsabit, and Mandera counties in the north of the country.

Unfortunately, drastic climate and weather patterns are not new to this region of the world. Ever since late 2020, Somalia and parts of Ethiopia and Kenya have been suffering under one of the worst droughts in the region in forty years. The Horn of Africa is a region that is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and extreme weather events have been happening with increasing intensity and frequency. 

Sources:

“Dozens Dead and Thousands Trapped in Somalia’s ‘Worst Floods in Decades.’” Al Jazeera, 8 Nov. 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/8/dozens-dead-and-thousands-trapped-in-somalias-worst-floods-in-decades.  

Davies, Richard. East Africa – Heavy Rains and Floods Take Their Toll in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Malawi. 6 Nov. 2023, floodlist.com/africa/east-africa-floods-november-2023-somalia-ethiopia-kenya-burundi-malawi.

Kenya – 46 Dead and 58,000 Displaced as Floods Worsen. 14 Nov. 2023, floodlist.com/africa/kenya-floods-update-november-2023.

AfricaNews. “Floods: At Least 111 Dead and 700,000 Displaced in the Horn of Africa – NGO.” Africanews, 16 Nov. 2023, www.africanews.com/2023/11/16/floods-at-least-111-dead-and-700000-displaced-in-the-horn-of-africa-ngo.

“Death and Displacement as Floods Hit East Africa.” Al Jazeera, 6 Nov. 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/6/kenya-flooding-kills-15-displaces-thousands. 

El Niño. education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/el-nino. 

Image sources:

“Unsom Police.” UNSOM, 10 Oct. 2023, unsom.unmissions.org/unsom-police. 

“Dozens Dead and Thousands Trapped in Somalia’s ‘Worst Floods in Decades.’” Al Jazeera, 8 Nov. 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/8/dozens-dead-and-thousands-trapped-in-somalias-worst-floods-in-decades. 

Davies, Richard. East Africa – Heavy Rains and Floods Take Their Toll in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Malawi. 6 Nov. 2023, floodlist.com/africa/east-africa-floods-november-2023-somalia-ethiopia-kenya-burundi-malawi. 

Wanjiru, Rose. “Kenya Taps Innovative Digital Mapping to Enhance Public Participation.” Centre for Economic Governance, 28 Nov. 2019, cegkenya.org/kenya-taps-innovative-digital-mapping-to-enhance-public-participation. 

Kenya – 46 Dead and 58,000 Displaced as Floods Worsen. 14 Nov. 2023, floodlist.com/africa/kenya-floods-update-november-2023.