FAIRFIELD, Oct. 31 -- At least 200,000 people-including at least 100,000 children[1] -have been forced to flee their homes in the town of Beledweyne following heavy rains that continue to fall across Hiraan and Bakool regions of central Somalia.
Save the Children teams on the ground are reporting whole neighborhoods are now underwater, with families escaping on tractors, via donkey cart, on boats, and on foot. Tens of thousands of families are now living in makeshift camps on higher ground in the surrounding areas in dire need of food, water, and other basic necessities.
Nearly 85 percent of the residents of Beledweyne, normally home to nearly 400,000 people, have been affected by the floods, according to the Somali government. According ...