Thousands displaced, 30 killed by flooding in Kenya, Somalia

Aid agencies reported on Monday that at least 40 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced in Kenya and Somalia as a result of heavy rains and flash flooding.At least 25 people were killed and numerous homes, roads, and bridges were destroyed by the extreme weather, prompting the government of Somalia to declare an emergency. In the southern Somali state of Jubaland, in the Luuq district, about 2,400 people were reportedly stranded by floodwaters. Rescue and emergency personnel were attempting to reach them.Residents living along the entire Juba River stretch are advised to evacuate as the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has issued a high risk of flooding warning along the Juba and Shabelle rivers.The four years of drought that followed brought Somalia dangerously close to starvation before the heavy downpours.Since the heavy rains started on Friday, the number of fatalities in neighbouring Kenya has risen to 15, according to the Kenya Red Cross. The northeastern counties of Mandera and Wajir, as well as the port city of Mombasa, have been the most severely affected.The Kenya Red Cross said that as of Sunday, flash floods had killed 1,067 livestock and destroyed 241 acres of farmland.Kenyan weather forecasters began alerting people in September to the possibility of heavier-than-normal rains during the brief rainy season that lasts from October to December.In defiance of the prediction, President William Ruto informed Kenyans that "there would be no devastating El Nino flooding" and that experts had changed their minds.There have also been reports of heavy rains and flooding in Ethiopia's Somali region, where floodwaters have destroyed homes and farmlands, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.(With agency inputs)