MOGADISHU (SD) -At least 29 people have died, and over 850,000 others have been affected by severe flooding in Somalia, according to the country’s disaster management authorities.

Mohamed Macalin, the head of the Somali Disaster Management Agency, said that more than 305,000 people have been displaced across the country, and river floods are causing significant damage, affecting people’s livelihoods.

The United Nations, and the Somali Federal Government, have warned of extensive floods across Somalia, estimated to impact around 1.2 million people living near riverbanks.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced on Monday that emergency efforts are underway to assist 2,400 people still stranded by floods in Luuq district, southern Somalia. This escalation in humanitarian crises in Somalia comes as over 3.7 million people are already in dire need of assistance, and this number is expected to reach 4.3 million by December, primarily due to the impact of ongoing heavy flooding.

Somalia declared a state of emergency in flood-affected regions (October through December) last Sunday, according to SoDMA. Severe flooding occurred after Somalia experienced its highest rainfall in four decades following five years of drought, affecting livestock and farmlands, which has led to a looming famine in the country.