Text Only
Search

 
Somalia Tsunami Death Toll At Least 114, About 30,000 Displaced


31 December 2004
El Balla Hagona of UNDP - Download (MP3) audio clip
El Balla Hagona of UNDP - Listen (MP3) audio clip
El Balla Hagona of UNDP - Download (Real) audio clip
El Balla Hagona of UNDP - Listen (Real) audio clip

The death toll in Somalia now stands at 114, with about 30 thousand people displaced.  However, the figures are based on a partial assessment of the country, following Sunday's tsunami. 

El Balla Hagona, the UNDP country director and acting humanitarian director for Somalia, says it'll be a few more days more before the full extent of the wave's impact is known.  For instance, he says interim Somali government officials have told him that they do not know the fate of inhabitants on 16 small coastal islands. 

Mr. Hagona says Somalia differs from many of the other countries affected because it has no working government within the country, and that UN and other agencies are "filling the vacuum."  He also says also says there is "an absolute lack of any indigenous capacity for assessment and response." 

Mr. Hagona spoke from Nairobi to English to Africa reporter Joe De Capua. 

emailme.gif E-mail This Article
printerfriendly.gif Print Version

  Top Story
Germany Marks  20th Anniversary of Collapse of Berlin Wall  Audio Clip Available  Video clip available

  More Stories
Suicide Bomber Kills 3 in Northwestern Pakistan
APEC Economies Report Improved Trade Finance, Discuss Free Trade  Audio Clip Available
Israel's Netanyahu, Obama to Meet Monday
Scientists Report Abnormal Sea Level Rises Off Western Australia  Audio Clip Available
Sri Lanka to Boost Investment in Tamil Provinces Devastated by Civil War  Audio Clip Available
Obama: Iraq Election Law an "Important Milestone"  Audio Clip Available
Iraqi Parliament Approves New Electoral Law After Raucous Debate  Audio Clip Available
US Army Chief of Staff: More Troops Needed in Afghanistan
Market Bomber Kills 13 in Northwest Pakistan
Clinton Urges Europeans to Bring Down "Walls" of Terrorism, Oppression  Audio Clip Available
Hurricane Ida Heads Toward Gulf of Mexico, Floods Kill 91 in El Salvador
Russia-Iran Relations Balancing on Nuclear Issue
Motive Sought for Texas Mass Shooting
Dalai Lama Rejects Chinese Criticism of Monastery Visit  Audio Clip Available
China's Premier Pledges $10 billion in Loans to Africa  Audio Clip Available
Netanyahu Heads to US Amid Crisis in Peace Process  Audio Clip Available
Japan Pledges More Aid to Burma if Political Prisoners are Released
WFP Making Inroads on Alleviating Hunger  Audio Clip Available
Deposed Madagascar President says He Will Work With Rival Who Ousted Him  Audio Clip Available
US Health Care Debate Continues on Partisan Lines