Minnesota’s Somali community is organizing to help friends and relatives impacted by catastrophic flooding in the Horn of Africa.

Since the rainy season started in October, more the 700,000 people have been displaced by historic floods in Somalia. More than 100 people have been killed.

Somali leaders and community members have put together an emergency fundraising committee to get help to those impacted by the flooding. The group is working with the Humanitarian African Relief Organization, a Minneapolis nonprofit.

Abdisamad Nur Bidar Loyan is chairing the committee. He has relatives who were displaced by flooding, and they’re now staying in a remote region away from the worst of the flood impacts.

“Almost all Somalis here in Minnesota have relatives that have been impacted in southern Somalia,” he said. “Some people are sending every penny that they earn back home.”

This year’s unusually heavy rains came after years of intense drought. The back-to-back disasters have exacerbated several crises at once: Somalia is facing a food shortage and widespread damage to infrastructure, which has cut communities off from schools, hospitals and markets. Public health officials are also concerned about increased risk of diseases like cholera and malaria.

At a press conference on Monday, local aid organizers and public officials said that the disasters point to a need for longer-term solutions. Scientists predict that extreme weather events like these will increase as the climate changes.

Global Health Alliance, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that seeks to promote global health care access, delivered new medical equipment to a maternal health hospital in Somalia earlier this year. They had planned to visit Somalia next year to train hospital staff and conduct a survey to see where they could help next, but those plans have been suspended due to the flooding.

“This is absolutely heartbreaking to hear and to see,” Global Health Alliance CEO Ikraan Abdulle said. “The floods have reinforced the urgent need for sustainable solutions and better disaster preparedness.”

Loyan said that the emergency aid committee has raised around $300,000 so far. Their goal is to raise a million dollars by the end of the year. The committee is holding its first in-person fundraiser at the Zawadi Center in Bloomington on Friday.

Minnesota state representative Hodan Hassan (DFL-Minneapolis) said at the Monday press conference that she wants Minnesotans to see the crisis in Somalia.

“This is human catastrophe that we’re witnessing. This is one of the worst things that has happened to Somalia, and Somalia has been through a lot,” Hassan said. “We’re calling for all Minnesotans to come forward and support their neighbors, their friends, their colleagues.”