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Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have been hit by incessant rains since the beginning of the month due to the El Niño weather phenomenon.
More than 100 people, including 16 children, have died and more than 700,000 have been forced from their homes in the Horn of Africa due to flash floods, British charity Save the Children said on Thursday.
The region, particularly Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, has been hit by incessant rains since the beginning of the month due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, flooding homes and farmland.
Some 46 people have died in Kenya, 32 in Somalia and another 33 in Ethiopia, Save the Children said, warning that the rains “showed no sign of slowing down”.
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity.
The region is emerging from its worst drought in four decades after several failed rains left millions in need and destroyed crops and livestock.
“Severe flooding and displacement have cut off families and children from basic services, including access to food, health care, water and sanitation services,” said Xavier Joubert, Save the Children’s Ethiopia director.
“With that comes the real risk of waterborne diseases, including cholera and measles.”
Aid groups have warned that the situation is likely to worsen and called for urgent global intervention as El Niño is expected to last until at least April 2024.
El Niño is usually associated with increased global heat, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rainfall elsewhere.
Between October 1997 and January 1998, catastrophic flooding caused by El Niño led to more than 6,000 deaths in five countries in the Horn of Africa.
At least 1,800 people have died in Somalia as the Juba River burst its banks.
At the end of 2019, 265 people died and tens of thousands were displaced during two months of relentless rains in several East African countries.