Somalia: Floods leave some 12 000 people homeless

(SomaliNet) Local residents and aid workers said on Tuesday that devastating floods left an estimated 12,000 people homeless in southern Somalia, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.

The floods triggered by torrential rains started sweeping residential areas in Bardhere, some 440 kilometres (270 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, on Monday.

\"The floods swept away houses and businesses inside the town. There are at least 700 families who had to flee their homes,\" local town elder Moalim Adan Muse told AFP by phone.

A local aid worker, Ahmed Omar, whose family was also among those affected by the floods, said the overall number of people made homeless by the floods was estimated at around 12,000.

\"The floods followed heavy rains that hit surrounding areas on Monday and Tuesday. They have left about 12,000 people homeless by now. The residents are desperate and staying in makeshift houses made of plastic sheeting and sticks which they have erected on higher ground,\" he said.

\"We sent a team to assess the number of people left homeless and they are estimating more than 10,000 people who lived in four of the town\'s neighbourhoods were directly affected and fled their homes,\" said Mohamed Idris Yusuf, a member of the crisis committee set by up the local authorities.

\"We fear the Jubba river can also burst its banks if the rains continues in this part of the region,\" Abdinasir Warsame, another local elder, told AFP.

The Horn of Africa country is already grappling with a dire humanitarian situation caused by an ongoing civil conflict, as well as drought in some other regions and rising global food prices. -AFP