As many as 300
people are feared dead after a ferocious
storm and days of heavy floods in
Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region,
the local government said Wednesday. “Torrential rains, high wind speeds and
flooding has created a state of
emergency, with 300 persons feared
dead, hundreds others unaccounted for,
and countless livestock lost,” the
government of the semi-autonomous region said in a statement. The death toll could not be independently
verified, but weather experts from the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
confirmed flooding was severe. “Given that Puntland is a semi-arid region,
it rarely rains but when it does, to an
extent we have seen… the impact is
devastating,” said Hussein Gadain, a senior
FAO technical advisor. Infamous pirate hotspots such as the port
of Eyl — from where Somali gunmen have
launched attacks far out into the Indian
Ocean — are some of the worst affected. “Many fishermen are missing and feared
dead, the storm has destroyed entire
villages, homes, buildings, and boats,” the
statement added. Coastal destruction caused by a 2004
tsunami was widely seen as being one
trigger for a surge in attacks off Somalia,
peaking in January 2011 when the pirates
held 736 hostages and 32 boats. However, the rate of attacks has tumbled
in the past two years, prompted partly by
the posting of armed guards on boats and
navy patrols. Pirates still hold an Omani-flagged Naham
3 fishing boat offshore, as well as at least
six traditional wooden Yemeni fishing
boats, although around 90 sailors from
other boats are still held hostage onshore. Puntland’s government has described the
situation as a “disaster”, with entire
villages destroyed, and said it was
appealing for emergency international aid. The World Food Programme (WFP) said it is
“working closely” with local authorities “to
assess the needs in Puntland in the
aftermath of the cyclone.” The main tarmac road between Puntland’s
capital Garowe and the key port Bossaso
has been cut off by flood waters,
hampering delivering of relief supplies. “The loaded and ready trucks cannot
deliver supplies by road, as the heavy rains
and flooding have rendered dirt roads to
the coastal areas impassible,” the
government added. Somalia has been riven by civil war since
the collapse of central government in
1991. Impoverished Puntland, which forms the
tip of the Horn of Africa, has its own
government, although unlike neighbouring
Somaliland, it has not declared
independence from Somalia.
people are feared dead after a ferocious
storm and days of heavy floods in
Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region,
the local government said Wednesday. “Torrential rains, high wind speeds and
flooding has created a state of
emergency, with 300 persons feared
dead, hundreds others unaccounted for,
and countless livestock lost,” the
government of the semi-autonomous region said in a statement. The death toll could not be independently
verified, but weather experts from the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
confirmed flooding was severe. “Given that Puntland is a semi-arid region,
it rarely rains but when it does, to an
extent we have seen… the impact is
devastating,” said Hussein Gadain, a senior
FAO technical advisor. Infamous pirate hotspots such as the port
of Eyl — from where Somali gunmen have
launched attacks far out into the Indian
Ocean — are some of the worst affected. “Many fishermen are missing and feared
dead, the storm has destroyed entire
villages, homes, buildings, and boats,” the
statement added. Coastal destruction caused by a 2004
tsunami was widely seen as being one
trigger for a surge in attacks off Somalia,
peaking in January 2011 when the pirates
held 736 hostages and 32 boats. However, the rate of attacks has tumbled
in the past two years, prompted partly by
the posting of armed guards on boats and
navy patrols. Pirates still hold an Omani-flagged Naham
3 fishing boat offshore, as well as at least
six traditional wooden Yemeni fishing
boats, although around 90 sailors from
other boats are still held hostage onshore. Puntland’s government has described the
situation as a “disaster”, with entire
villages destroyed, and said it was
appealing for emergency international aid. The World Food Programme (WFP) said it is
“working closely” with local authorities “to
assess the needs in Puntland in the
aftermath of the cyclone.” The main tarmac road between Puntland’s
capital Garowe and the key port Bossaso
has been cut off by flood waters,
hampering delivering of relief supplies. “The loaded and ready trucks cannot
deliver supplies by road, as the heavy rains
and flooding have rendered dirt roads to
the coastal areas impassible,” the
government added. Somalia has been riven by civil war since
the collapse of central government in
1991. Impoverished Puntland, which forms the
tip of the Horn of Africa, has its own
government, although unlike neighbouring
Somaliland, it has not declared
independence from Somalia.
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