Storm death toll rises to 140 in Somalia's Puntland

Reuters: The death toll from a tropical cyclone that hit Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region at the weekend has risen to 140 but the final figure could total 300, the government said on Wednesday. The government has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international aid to help the tiny Horn of Africa region, which is rich in energy resources and is being sized up by oil explorers.

Weather experts at the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the cyclone, which made landfall on Saturday, was characterized by unusually heavy storms. Latest rainfall data shows the cyclone has subsided after flooding the coastal town of Eyl, Dangaroyo and the Puntland capital Garowe, though heavy rains are still expected inland.

"So far we have confirmed the storm killed 140 people. We are afraid the death toll may reach 300 because many people are still missing. Roads have been cut and the only access to those areas is by air," Abdullahi Ahmed, Puntland's interior minister, told Reuters late on Tuesday. The government said it needed clean water, non-perishable foods, medicines, shelter materials and blankets....

Locator map of Puntland, in Somalia, posted by Roo72, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license