The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Saturday warned of high risk of severe flooding in Somalia amid rise in river levels.

Axar.az reports that FAO's Somalia Water and Land Information Management (FAO-SWALIM) flood bulletin released in Mogadishu warns at least 150,000 people are at immediate risk from imminent floods as river levels in parts of the country continue to rise due to torrential rains.

Ezana Kassa, Head of Programme for FAO in Somalia said in a statement that it is time to act to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people who will be affected by this unprecedented flood.

According to FAO, the Shabelle River has risen at an alarming rate over the past week due to the heavy rains, adding that rains on the upper parts of the Ethiopian highlands are causing large volumes of water to flow rapidly towards Somalia.

As with the previous three years, the UN food agency warned of a flood wave likely to inundate Beletweyne, one of the largest towns in Somalia, in the coming days.