A villager wading through flood waters that destroyed his home along the Juba river in southern Somalia, in 2006. At least four people were killed and around 1,500 families displaced after floods inundated dozens of villages in southern Somalia, a local administrator and an elder said Wednesday.

Mogadishu, 5 September, 2007 - At least four people were killed and around 1,500 families displaced after floods inundated dozens of villages in southern Somalia, a local administrator and an elder said Wednesday.

The Shabelle River broke its banks and swept through hectares of farmlands, destroying crops in the region where the majority of the 1.5 million people who face a food shortage in Somalia live.

"At least four people were killed yesterday (Tuesday) by the floods. I believe other people could also die if not assisted soon," said Mohamed Weli, a local administrator in the flood-affected Middle Shabelle region.

Most of the displaced are from Balad area, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu, Weli said.

Elder Haji Hasan Mohamed said displaced villagers are in dire need of humanitarian supplies.

"The displaced do not have proper shelter and medicines. We pray Allah to end this disaster," he said.

The Horn of Africa nation, home to about 10 million people, has faced numerous calamities since a popular uprising ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, setting the stage for a power struggle that has defied numerous efforts to restore normalcy.

Aid groups say widespread insecurity has hampered delivery of humanitarian supplies to around 1.5 million conflict-weary people threatened by shortages mainly in southern Somalia.

A three-year-old interim government, which is currently facing a deadly insurgency in Mogadishu, has failed to exert its tenuous control beyond a few pockets held by allied factions.

Source: AFP