Türkiye dispatches 2,000 aid packages to flood-hit Somalia
Turkish Red Crescent volunteers are photographed next to the stand with some of 2,000 packages for the flood-hit citizens of Somalia, Dec. 2, 2023. (AA Photo)


The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) handed over 2,000 food packages to the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) for those impacted by the recent floods on Saturday.

Ahmed Abdi Adan, vice president of SODMA, expressed gratitude to Türkiye and said they would ensure that the aid reaches those in need, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

The deputy head of the Turkish Red Crescent Somalia Delegation, Taner Kurt, noted that they continue their aid efforts in the country: "We continue to spread goodness to the whole world by delivering aid to those in need in Somalia."

On Wednesday, the death toll from heavy rains and floods in Somalia has risen to 101, with 1 million people displaced and 1.5 million affected nationwide, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said.

Mohamud said Somalia is facing a humanitarian crisis caused by the climate change-enhanced El Nino that is devastating many parts of the country.

"The ongoing heavy rains and floods are expected to swamp at least 1.5 million hectares of farmland through December," the United Nations warned in its report on Nov. 30.

"Thousands of people have been cut off from markets and supplies or marooned in isolated villages," it added.