Muslim Aid has launched a £1 million appeal for the victims of flooding in the Horn of Africa.

Millions of people have been hit by floods in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. After several weeks of heavy rains, at least 80 people have died, including nine killed by crocodiles brought into villages by floodwaters.

Muslim Aid has already sent out £25,000 worth of aid to Somalia, which has been used to purchase and distribute mosquito nets, blankets, plastic sheets, medicine, and food aid. Muslim Aid's Mogadishu office has sent a team to the Lower Jubba area with extra drugs, especially cholera kits, to the affected areas, after reports of cholera emerged from the area.

"The floods seem to be intensifying, reaching to new places every hour, from Beletweyn in central Somalia to the Lower Jubba regions," observed Ahmed Muhummed, country director of Muslim Aid's Somalia office. "Our concern now is with reported flooding heading to villages in the Wanleweyn district. If this happens, it will cut off the main road that links Mogadishu to the Bay through the Lower Shabelle region."

Muslim Aid is one of the few international charities with an office and an active presence in the war-torn country of Somalia. This north-eastern African country has been worst-affected, partly because of the lack of infrastructure following 15 years of conflict and a lack of a central government.

The United Nations has called these floods the worst in the region for 50 years, and the rains are expected to continue for another month. The heavy rains in the Horn of Africa follow a long drought that has dried the ground and left it unable to soak up large amounts of rainfall.

"If the rains continue, it will cause many more difficulties," said Ahmed Muhummed. "In all flood-affected areas, there is a likelihood of waterborne diseases that can break out at any moment."

(ENDS)

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