SA floods claim 259 lives, shut down port of Durban

Catastrophic flooding that followed heavy rains in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal has claimed at least 259 lives, according to the disaster management agency leading the emergency response. The rains that began late Monday swamped roadways, stressed dams, and brought towering walls of mud and water down on the…

New flood mapping tool geared toward Global South

New flood mapping tool geared toward Global South

A new tool to map floods around the world, especially those that occur in the Global South, has been launched through a partnership between Google, MapBox, and other players working with a UN University group based in Canada. The World Flood Mapping Tool uses the Google Earth engine combined with…

EU commits €105 million to Horn of Africa relief

The European Union has announced €105.5 million in aid to Horn of Africa nations facing not just the coronavirus pandemic but also ongoing conflict, severe flooding and a months-long locust infestation that has destroyed crops and threatened food security. Somalia and Ethiopia will share €90 million nearly equally, while Kenya…

International aid arrives as Djibouti cleans up from floods

Japan and the European Union are among those supporting Djibouti after severe flooding hit the Horn of Africa nation, affecting some 250,000 people according to latest numbers from the EU. The United Nations office in Djibouti said the equivalent of two years of rainfall fell in a single day last…

Laureen Fagan

Laureen is the editor of Africa Times

Kenya landslide toll at 37 as rains continue over East Africa

The death toll has risen to 37 in Kenya, where authorities continue to deal with heavy rains and landslides in West Pokot, a county along the border with Uganda. Saturday’s massive downpours complicated the rescue efforts, isolating communities because of closed roads and leaving “already remote areas virtually unreachable,” according…

Somali aid workers warn of flood-related health crisis

Recent flooding has brought disaster to parts of Somalia, with heavy Deyr-season rains sending the Shabelle and Juba rivers over their banks and forcing some 273,000 people from their homes in the southern part of the nation. That’s raised fears of malaria and other disease outbreaks in the affected regions….

Floods in Sudan kill at least 54 people

Floods in Sudan have claimed at least 54 lives so far this rainy season, with impacts in almost all of the 18 states in the country. Most of the fatalities have occurred when the roofs of homes collapsed or people were electrocuted. The heavy rains that began August 13 have…

Nigeria sets up 5 regional flood response centers

Nigeria has activated five emergency command centers to better coordinate the response to deadly flooding, which has claimed more than 100 lives along the Niger and Benue rivers in the country’s southeast. The flooding has left some 600,000 people displaced, according to the European Union humanitarian aid office for emergency…

Ivoirian PM appeals for calm as 18 die in Abidjan floods

At least 18 people have died in flash flooding that hit in and around the capital city of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday, according to emergency personnel. Video from Côte d’Ivoire shared on social media appeared to show streets that turned into swollen and raging rivers, sweeping vehicles away…

2 die in Somalia flooding ahead of tropical storm landfall

Meteorologists tracking Sagar, a relatively rare tropical storm that strengthened as it crossed the entire Gulf of Aden, are expecting landfall on Saturday near the Djibouti-Somalia border. It has potential impacts for Ethiopia too as it reaches the Horn of Africa. Flash floods were reported in the Bari region of…