About 250,000 people flee floods in central Somalia 'ocean' town

Somali floods

Men walk through floodwater in Beledweyne, central Somalia, on May 14, 2023. PHOTO | HASSAN ALI ELMI | AFP

Floods have caused almost a quarter of a million people to flee their homes after the Shabelle river in Central Somalia broke its banks and submerged the town of Beledweyne, even as the country faces its most severe drought in four decades, according to the government.

Aid agencies and scientists have warned climate change is among the key factors accelerating humanitarian emergencies, while those impacted are some of the least responsible for CO2 emissions.