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Somalia

Drought, floods and conflict - triple emergency in Somalia

More than a million people in Somalia are struggling to cope with the aftermath of the worst flooding to hit the region for 10 years.

This is the latest in a series of disasters to hit people still recovering from a severe drought that killed thousands of cattle and pushed 1.8 million people to the brink of starvation earlier this year.

Since the rains began, the homes of nearly 1 million people have been destroyed and crops and roads have been washed away as rivers burst their banks.

With 100,000 hectares of land underwater much of Somalia remains inaccessible, and aid agencies have been forced to air-drop food, fuel and other emergency essentials to stranded communities. The UN this week launched an appeal for £122 million to continue this work.

On top of its ongoing work, including providing food to more than 600,000 people, CARE is distributing water containers and purifiers to replace those lost in the floods, ensuring that people have clean water. CARE is also distributing kitchen utensils, tarpaulins and emergency food to thousands of affected families across Shabelle and Gedo regions.

Years of conflict have led to a collapse of Somalia's infrastructure, making aid work incredibly challenging; there are no health facilities and the education system is virtually non-existent.

In neighbouring Kenya, three refugee camps run by CARE - also affected by the floods - are bracing themselves for a new influx of refugees from Somalia. More than 25,000 people have already crossed into Kenya this year fleeing conflict and drought.

It is anticipated that many more, now homeless because of floods, will move towards the border to reach help in the camps once the roads are passable again.

If, as predicted by many, political tensions prompt an imminent return to conflict the numbers of people on the move to safety could rise drastically. CARE is concerned that new fighting would be disastrous for a population already in the midst of emergency and could hamper the efforts of the aid agencies working to help people survive.