Somalia cyclone toll rises to 300

Somalia cyclone toll rises to 300

Authorities have appealed for emergency assistance for the stricken areas in coastal towns and villages

 

Reuters

Mogadishu: Authorities in the northeastern Somali state of Puntland on Wednesday said that the death toll in the tropical cyclone that hit the coastal areas in the region has risen to 300.

"Heavy torrential rains, high wind speeds and flooding has created a state of emergency, with 300 people feared dead, hundreds of others unaccounted for, and countless livestock lost," Xinhua quoted an official of the semi-autonomous state in northeast Somalia as saying in a statement.

The region was hit by tropical cyclone on Saturday that caused heavy rains leading to flash floods.

Somali authorities have appealed for emergency assistance for the stricken areas in the northeastern coastal towns and villages.

The official said many fishermen are feared dead and that main thorough ways to the affected areas have been cut off.

The roads cut by the storm are posing logistical problem and hampering in the delivery of aid to the coastal areas, the statement said.

Senior officials visited parts of the affected areas to assess the damage and reiterated the appeal for international relief for survivors of the storm, the worst to hit Somalia in living memory.