More than two million people across the Horn of Africa have been forced from their homes by torrential rains and floods, according to an AFP tally compiled Thursday from government and UN figures.
Almost 300 people have also lost their lives in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia as the region grapples with its latest devastating climate disaster.
The heavy rainfall, linked to the El Niño weather pattern, has struck just as the region is emerging from the worst drought in 40 years that drove millions into hunger.
“It’s a dire situation,” the charity Action Against Hunger said in a statement late Wednesday, on the eve of the start of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
“Regions that were struggling to recover from the economic and environmental impacts of prolonged drought are now doubly burdened with flooding,” it said.