08 dec 2023 om 07:19
The Red Cross fears that countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya will experience even more flooding. The Horn of Africa has been suffering from flooding for days, while the peak of rainfall has yet to come. As a result, harvests are in danger of failing.
Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and Tanzania are experiencing the worst flooding in forty years. Dozens of deaths have also occurred in various countries. In Kenya, aid workers have to rely on boats to reach the affected areas, the Red Cross said on Friday. The aid organization speaks of a “chain of disasters” in the area.
The countries previously suffered the worst drought in more than forty years. As a result, it is now more difficult for the ground to absorb rainwater, which contributes to flooding.
The weather phenomenon El Niño, in which the sea water in certain parts of the Pacific Ocean warms, probably also plays a role in the extreme weather conditions. According to the Red Cross, climate change also has an “amplifying effect” on the weather phenomenon. “As a result, the rainfall is much heavier than during the previous El Niño in 2020,” the aid organization says.
“Thousands of people have lost their homes and many have been displaced. These are the people who have contributed the least to climate change, but are being hit hardest,” said Derk Segaar, head of International Aid at the Red Cross.
Segaar hopes that the climate summit in Dubai will decide to invest in making vulnerable areas climate-proof. “These countries now receive the least funding to adapt to a changing climate, while they are bearing the brunt of the consequences. World leaders must really make this a priority at this climate summit.”
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After Somalia and Kenya, dozens of people have now also died from floods in Tanzania
Drought in Somalia will claim 43,000 lives in 2022, no end to crisis in sight
Image: AP
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2023-12-08 06:19:36
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