At least seven killed by overnight floods in Mogadishu

At least seven people have died in devastating overnight floods in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Local officials say torrential rain began on Friday night and lasted for about ten hours, displacing more than two hundred families. Nine houses were destroyed and six major roads badly damaged across several districts of the city.

According to the Banadir regional administration, two of the victims were women, and hundreds more have lost their homes. One father told AFP that two children died in his neighbourhood and he had never seen rain this heavy in Mogadishu. Meanwhile, another resident said people were trapped in their homes as the storm caused widespread havoc.

A UN report published in April says more than 45,000 people have been affected by flash floods in Somalia since mid-April. The Horn of Africa is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense.

In 2023, over 100 people were killed and more than a million displaced by similar flooding, linked to the El Niño weather pattern.