Somalis going hungry after floods - President

Flooding in Somalia has left residents without homes and food shortages.

Around 1.6 million people in Somalia are thought to be affected by the heavy seasonal downpours.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the flooding has been worsened by the El Niño effect, which is causing changes in weather patterns around the world.

Somalia's President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said: "The people have been displaced, homes and properties destroyed, the people are hungry, and that is our problem right now, that is what we are focusing on."

The president also expressed concern about the added risk of outbreaks of diseases such as malaria and cholera.

The UN has described the floods in East Africa as "a once-in-a-century event".