UN reports extensive flooding damage in central Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The United Nations says floods caused by the annual rains have left “a trail of destruction” across Somalia, citing inundated homes and farmland as well as the shutdown of health facilities. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that more than 460,000 people have been impacted, including nearly 219,000 who have been forced from their homes. The destruction is greatest in the Hiiraan region of the central Somali state of Hirshabelle. Thousands of families have been displaced in Beledweyne, the regional city with the highest population density.