By Brian Okoth
More than 245,000 people in central Somalia have fled their homes after the area was marooned by floods, government records show.
Heavy rains caused Shabelle River to break its banks, forcing people living in the nearby Beledweyne town to move to safer grounds.
Seasonal rains in Somalia and the neighbouring Ethiopia have caused flash floods that have displaced people, swept away animals and crops.
Hiraan region, where Beledweyne town is located, is among the areas that have been seriously affected by the floods.
The Somali Disaster Management Agency said the floods in Beledweyne alone have caused the displacement of more than 245,000 people.
“Initial estimates indicate that the flash and riverine floods across Somalia have affected at least 460,470 people, of whom nearly 219,000 have been displaced from their homes mainly in flood-prone areas, and 22 killed," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
East and central Africa regions continue to experience heavy rainfall that has left hundreds of people dead and thousands displaced.
Records show that the rains have affected close to two million people and washed away tens of thousands of livestock in Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
