Deadly lightning kills 300 goats in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A deadly lightning killed at least 300 goats in central regions of Somalia, officials reported, an incident which left several livestock farmers counting losses, as the country also struggles with ravaging floods.

According to local authorities, the deadly incident took place in the Teedaan area in the Hiiraan region just within the Hirshabelle state of Somalia. The village is in the Mahaas District within the country.

One of the victims, Ali Abdi Amin alias Ali Afey, told reporters that the lightning killed the goats in one camp, leaving no survivors among his livestock. The goats were grazing in one of the camps within the district.

"There were 300 goats in the camp. The animals killed by lightning were all in one camp, and we were planning to move to other villages due to the rain as we had just left winter. It started raining at nine o'clock at night, and then the lightning struck. It happened in the goats' camp, and we were all scared," he said.

Those affected, he added, are rural folks who depend on livestock keeping as an economic venture, which also helps them to take their children to school. Over 40 people were affected by the calamity, he added.

"Two families are living there, me and my son. We don't have any other animals except the goats that were killed. We didn't have camels and cows. We live with goats, but the goats are now gone," said Ali Abdi Amin Ali Afey.

The El Nino-induced floods that began last August displaced 1.2 million people, and now the April-June Gu rainy season has already started in the country. Thousands of people have been affected by the ongoing rains across Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE