MOGADISHU, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed and 180,000 others affected in Somalia by tropical cyclone Gati which has since dissipated with dry and hot conditions expected in the affected areas in the coming day, the UN said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an estimated 7,500 livestock (camels, sheep, goats) were killed by the cyclone in Xaafuun, Karduush and Hurdiye as the storm left behind a trail of destruction.
"At least nine people were killed and almost 4,000 properties belonging to nomadic communities in the affected areas destroyed," OCHA said in its latest Update on the Gati which was released on Monday evening.
According to the OCHA's assessment, the cyclone storm which made a landfall in northeast Somalia on Nov. 22 also destroyed 886 properties which amount to more than 75 percent of all privately-owned properties in Xaafuun, Dardaare, Hurdiye and Karduush.
According to the initial survey, schools, health facilities, water points and government offices and about 80 percent residential houses were destroyed or damaged.
The UN humanitarian agency said some nomadic pastoralists lost entire stocks of livestock with the assessment team confirming that 120 fishing vessels including eight huge fishing boats were either totally or partially destroyed, and a total of 469 fishermen lost livelihood assets.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)'s Somalia Water and Land Information Management (FAO-SWALIM) said cyclone Gati caused some increase of rainfall amounts in parts of Somaliland and Puntland with some stations like Bossaso recording as high as 128 mm, surpassing its annual average rainfall (50mm) in just a single day on Nov. 23.
"With the cyclone dissipated, hot and dry conditions will persist in Somaliland and Puntland as the Deyr rainy season comes to an end," said OCHA.
According to the UN agency, the forecast for the southern regions points to scattered light rains except for Lower Juba which is projected to receive moderate rains. Enditem
