The number of people impacted by seasonal flooding in East Africa has increased six-fold in the last five years, according to data given to BBC by the United Nations.

Nearly 6 million people have already been affected this year with 1.5 million of them displaced from their homes.
Parts of the region are experiencing some of the heaviest rainfall recorded in a century.

The United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of -Humanitarian Affairs plays a central role in the emergency response when floods hit the region. And the data it has gathered paints a worrying picture.

In 2016, just over a million people were affected by flooding – this means their homes or businesses were damaged or they had to seek refuge. In 2019 that number jumped to 4 million.

This year that figure is already close to 6 million. That’s even before the short rains, which peak in November and hit most countries in East Africa
Nearly all states in Sudan have experienced record flooding since July. It is the same in parts of Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Scientists increasingly believe the warming of the Indian Ocean is driving increased rainfall. A recent study from the University of Texas suggests the volume of the short rainy season could double by the end of this century.