Eight dead after cyclone hits Somalia

A cyclone that hit parts of Somalia this week killed eight people and displaced thousands, flooded farmlands and could worsen a locust plague, an official and United Nations agencies said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Thursday Tropical Cyclone Gati made landfall in the semi-autonomous Puntland region on Sunday and subsided on Tuesday, but moderate and light rain continues to fall.

Eight Yemeni fishermen had been killed by the cyclone, Mohamed Yusuf Boli, commissioner for the coastal district of Hafun told Reuters.

"It also destroyed many boats and houses. The town is in water and in bad situation," Boli added.

In addition to the deaths, UNOCHA said the cyclone had displaced 42,000 people from their homes.