Title: 29 People Killed in Worst Floods to Hit Somalia in Decades

The National Disaster Management Authority in Somalia reported on Wednesday that 29 people have died and more than 300,000 have been displaced from their homes due to the worst floods to hit the country in decades, following heavy rains that have inundated towns across East Africa. Authorities have rushed to rescue thousands who are stranded due to the flooding, which comes after the worst drought in the region in 40 years. Hassan Issa, an official from the agency, stated, "What is happening today is the worst in decades. It is even worse than the floods of 1997." Issa noted that the number of casualties and displaced individuals is likely to rise as many people remain trapped by floodwaters. Mohammed Farah, a chief from the city of Baidoa in southwestern Somalia, said, "I do not remember ever seeing floods like this in my life. People continue to evacuate in search of higher ground." The United Nations reported that about 2,400 people are cut off in the town of Luuq, where the Jubba River has overflowed. The Kenyan Red Cross and the Ugandan Roads Authority noted that floods in Kenya have claimed at least 15 lives and submerged a bridge in Uganda, disrupting the road that connects Kampala to oil fields in the northwest. Nazanin Moushiri, a climate analyst at the International Crisis Group, explained that the flooding in the region is the result of a combined effect of two climatic phenomena: El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole. These phenomena are climate patterns that affect ocean surface temperatures and lead to above-average rainfall.