Overview

• The worst flooding to have hit Somalia in decades has resulted in 29 fatalities and displaced more than 300,000 people, following heavy rainfall in the region.
• The extreme rainfall is a result of weather patterns like El Niño and Indian Ocean Dipole, and has impacted the region's soil, already damaged by a severe drought, making the flooding impact worse.
• The floods have also affected neighboring countries like Kenya, where at least 15 people were killed, 97 hectares of farmland were destroyed, and more than 1,000 livestock animals perished.
• At least 2,400 people have been rendered isolated in the town of Luuq, caused by flooding from the swelling Jubba River, with many people still reportedly trapped by the waters.
• The ongoing climate crisis, characterized by such extreme weather events, prompts proposals for new global taxes and reforms to international finance institutions by African leaders to fund climate change action.