The regions of Tigray and Amhara in northern Ethiopia have continued to experience severe drought conditions with more than 50 people dead, as well as 4,000 cattle.
While northern Ethiopia suffers from droughts, the southern and eastern parts of the country, along with Kenya and Somalia, have been hit by flooding. Somalia suffered the worst of the flooding, with 50 people reported dead. According to the Somali disaster management agency almost 700,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.
Across east Africa a total of 130 people have died because of the flooding. The town of Beledweyne in Somalia was badly affected as the Shabelle River burst its banks, destroying many homes. According to Save the Children, an estimated 250,000 people (about 90% of Beledweyne’s population) were forced out of their homes. The flooding is expected to continue to affect east Africa with the UN warning that 4.3 million people (a quarter of Somalia’s population) are at risk of “crisis-level hunger or worse”.
Meanwhile, Turkey is facing the aftermath of a severe storm and flooding that affected the country on 18 and 19 November. The storm was responsible for the sinking of the Turkish-flagged cargo ship Kafkametler, which sank off the Black Sea coast. The ship struck a breakwater outside the harbour near the town of Ereğli, which left 11 of its crew members missing. The ship had already sustained damage in October after it struck a mine off the coast of Romania. The search and rescue operation was delayed for several hours due to the severe weather, but the body of the ship’s cook was found after conditions had eased. Another ship, registered in Cameroon, broke in two due to the storm after all its crew had been safely evacuated.
Rescue and relief efforts continue across multiple provinces, with significant large scale damage reported to people’s homes and infrastructure, including roofs blown off, fallen trees and flooding. In response to the situation, schools were temporarily suspended across four provinces. At least nine people have died in three provinces, with injuries to at least 50 people.
