Flooding in Somalia has left Around 1.6 million residents without homes and food shortages.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the flooding has been worsened by the El Niño effect, which is causing changes in weather patterns around the world.
Extreme weather linked to the ongoing El Niño risks further driving up humanitarian needs in already-vulnerable communities in Somalia and many other places,” said Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General, the UN’s Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
“We know what the risks are, and we need to get ahead of these looming crises,” he said.
Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said the government is trying to find shelter to people who have been displaced, and homes and properties destroyed, while providing food to others who are sleeping hungry.
The president also expressed concern about the added risk of outbreaks of diseases such as malaria and cholera.
The UN has described the floods in East Africa as “a once-in-a-century event”.