At least 18 dead after cyclone hits Horn of Africa

ADDIS ABABA: Flooding and strong winds caused by a tropical cyclone left at least 18 people dead and thousands homeless across two countries in the Horn of Africa, an aid agency said Monday.

Cyclone Sagar formed last week in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen´s coast and made landfall on Saturday in Djibouti and Somaliland, a breakaway state in northern Somalia where the bulk of the deaths occurred.

"1,780 families fled their homes due to the storm, 16 people were reported killed, and at least 80 homes were destroyed," Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in a statement, citing the UN´s humanitarian coordinator OCHA.

The aid group added that the storm left two people dead in Djibouti´s capital and flooded several neighbourhoods, affecting between 20,000 and 30,000 people.

"This is the biggest storm to hit the region in years," NRC regional director Nigel Tricks said.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the full extent of the damage in Somaliland remained unclear because the storm destroyed roads and communication infrastructure.

Forty fishermen who were at sea and were not warned about the storm remain unaccounted for, the body added.

Relief efforts have been hindered by deadly clashes that erupted last week in a disputed desert region between Somaliland and the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland.

Those clashes displaced 10,000 people and "further (complicated) an already complex humanitarian picture," OCHA said in a statement on Sunday. </s> 00:38 Dorian Leaves Colder Waters in its Wake Dorian leaves behind colder waters, meteorologist Danielle Banks explains.

At a Glance Tropical Cyclone Sagar left 16 dead after pounding parts of the Middle East and eastern Africa.

It has become the strongest tropical storm ever recorded in Somalia.

At least 16 people died as Tropical Cyclone Sagar pounded the Middle East and eastern Africa over the weekend, making history as the strongest tropical storm ever recorded in Somalia.

The deadly storm destroyed the homes of at least 80 families and left nearly 1,800 displaced , director general of Somalia’s Ministry of Planning and National Development Abdirashed Ibrahim reported via Twitter.

An elderly woman was killed near Aden, Yemen, when her house caught fire due to Sagar, according to the Associated Press.

The emergency center of Yemen's Health Ministry reported that flash flooding caused sewage to pour into the streets of the city of Aden.

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In western Somalia, an undisclosed number of people were reported missing in Bulaxaar , according to ReliefWeb. Communication was disrupted in the Lughaya district after the storm destroyed a telecommunication tower and at least 15 shelters were destroyed in the Ceel Sheekh village.

In addition to flash flooding, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says the heavy rains could cause favorable breeding conditions for desert locusts, according to the Associated Press.

"Monitoring tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden is a very important part of this strategy because historically they have been the origin or trigger of Desert Locust plagues," according to Keith Cressman, the Senior Locust Forecasting Officer at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Ahead of the storm, researchers at the UK Met Office also warned that the rainfall could lead to cholera infections .

Sagar struck at around noon local time Saturday about 100 miles southeast of the city of Djibouti, along the flat, arid coastal plain of far western Somalia. As Sagar tracked inland, satellite imagery indicated widespread rains across western Somalia, the nation of Djibouti, and far northeast Ethiopia as Sagar tracked inland. </s> At least 15 people died in northern Somalia after heavy rains caused by tropical cyclone Sagar caused havoc in the Horn of Africa over the weekend.

"In the last 24 hours, heavy rains killed 15 people in the districts of Lughaya and Baki," Abdirahman Ahmed Ali, governor of the Awdal area, told reporters on Sunday.

The cyclone slammed into a region that has suffered three years of drought. The lack of rain has ensured the ground is almost devoid of vegetation, making it particularly prone to flash flooding.

Most of the destruction has been felt in the Puntland and Somaliland region of the East African country.

The situation is further complicated by an ongoing conflict between forces from the two regions. An armed standoff in Sool had displaced almost 10,000 people before the cyclone's arrival.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said thousands of people have been affected by the flooding, displacement and the destruction of infrastructure in Sagar's wake.

"The cyclone has worsened the humanitarian situation in the two states and disputed regions, which have experienced protracted drought dating back to 2015, leaving them particularly prone to flash flooding in the direct aftermath of massive downpours," it said in a statement.

In Mogadishu, roads were washed away and the government relocated tens of families after their homes were flooded. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Cyclone Fani lashes India's eastern coast

A powerful cyclone has slammed into India's eastern coastline, bringing torrential rains and winds of up to 200 km/h (125mph).

Cyclone Fani, one of the most severe storms to hit the region in recent years, made landfall at 08:00 local time (02:30 GMT) on Friday.

More than one million people have been evacuated from the eastern state of Orissa, also called Odisha.

A state official said two people had been killed.

Flooding has also been reported in several areas, and forecasters say a storm surge of 1.5m (5ft) could threaten low-lying homes.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Around 800,000 people were evacuated along the eastern coast of India

The cyclone made landfall in the tourist town of Puri, which is home to the 858-year-old Jagannath temple.

It is expected to hit 15 districts in Orissa, one of India's poorest states, before weakening on Saturday.

What is the latest?

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Weather's Ben Rich has the latest update on the cyclone

Numerous flights and train services in and out of the state have been cancelled, while schools and government offices are shut. Operations at three ports on India's eastern coast have also been shut down.

Naval warships and helicopters are on standby with medical teams and relief materials. The country's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed several teams there.

India's National Disaster Management Authority has warned people along the east coast, especially fishermen, not to go out to sea because the conditions are "phenomenal".

The agency said the "total destruction of thatched houses" was possible, as well as "extensive damage" to other structures.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri district and will continue moving to West Bengal and Tamilnadu

"I can confirm two deaths for now," Orissa special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi told AFP news agency.

"[A] man in one of the shelters died because of a heart attack. Another person went out in the storm despite our warnings and died because a tree fell on him," he said.

The cyclone is expected to move towards Chittagong in Bangladesh in a weaker form on Saturday.

It coincides with high tides in the country, which may exacerbate potential flooding issues there.

The port city of Cox's Bazar, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees live in camps with minimal shelter, is also on alert. But the cyclone is currently not expected to hit the camps unless it changes path, which is not thought likely.

How has India prepared?

In February the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) began distributing tarpaulins ahead of the region's "cyclone season" - but warned that if a deadly storm rolls in, shelters made of battered bamboo and shredded plastic would offer little protection.

The navy, the coast guard and the National Disaster Response Force have all been prepared for deployment.

Two ships with divers and doctors have been stationed at the southern port cities of Vishakapatnam and Chennai (formerly Madras), an official told local media.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Train services have been cancelled

In 2017, Cyclone Ockhi killed more than 200 people and displaced hundreds. In October last year, officials in Orissa evacuated hundreds of thousands of people when another cyclone struck.

But India has improved its protections and responses to these disasters in recent years. The state's most deadly cyclone on record took place in 1999, killing almost 10,000 people.

India's electoral commission has relaxed its rules about what the government can do during election periods so that the authorities can carry out relief work.

The country is in the middle of a multi-phased election which started last month.

Under normal circumstances the incumbent government has certain powers suspended, so that it can't announce new schemes or take new decisions during the voting period.

Although the election will continue until the end of May, Orissa has already voted.
Cyclone Sagar makes landfall in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, killing at least 16 people.