afrol News / IRIN, 9 November - The human death toll from flooding in southern Somalia has risen to 18, with thousands people more forced to leave their homes, local officials said on Thursday.

Heavy rainfall is to blame for the rising water levels in the Shabelle and Juba rivers, which have burst their banks, destroying farmlands in the regions of Lower Shabele, Middle Shabelle, Lower Juba and Gedo - all in southern Somala.

The highest number of deaths was in the Middle Shabelle where authorities reported 10 dead. In Lower Shabelle region, where flooding was less severe, six people among them three children died, according an Italian nongovernmental organisation operating in the area, known as COSV.

"As of this morning we have confirmed six deaths due to the floods," Hassan Hiirey, a medical doctor with COSV, said on Thursday.

The floods, he added, had devastated agricultural land and other property.

The worst affected area is the district of Kurtunwarey, 150 south of Mogadishu. "Four villages have been completely flooded and three others are surrounded by water," Hiirey said.

In Bardhere, the capital of Gedo region, 485 km west of the capital, crocodiles reportedly ate two children. "They were eaten by crocodiles that were washed inland when the Juba River burst its banks," Hassan Keynaan, a local resident, said.

He said at least 84 villages around Bardhere had been abandoned due to flooding, with the residents running to higher ground. Those who had been displaced had lost everything and needed immediate help.

The floods had also cut off roads between Bardhere and outlying villages. "The only means of transport right now is by boat," Keynaan added.

Elders in the area have set up an emergency committee to help the affected populations.

Meanwhile, the rains have continued. "We had rains last night and if it continues at this rate the situation is likely to get worse," Sheikh Abdisalam Hassan, the governor of Middle Shabelle Region, told IRIN on Thursday.

At least 170 villages in the region and around the main town of Johwar, 90 km northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, have been flooded, according to local residents. The worst-affected are Huriwa, 55 km north of Jowhar, Dudunle, and the village of Garash, 5 km south of Jowhar - all of which have been abandoned.

© afrol News / IRIN

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