Death toll from Somali cyclone rises to more than 100

The United Nations says more than 100 people are feared dead after a rare tropical cyclone hit northern Somalia.

The government in Mogadishu reported an even higher death toll Wednesday, citing 140 killed in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region over the weekend, and that the final figure could total 300.

The U.N. said in a statement that hundreds more are unaccounted for after heavy rains lashed the northern region of Puntland on Sunday. Communication lines and road access have been severed, hampering the verification of information and delivery of assistance.

The government has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international aid to help the tiny Horn of Africa region, which is rich in energy resources and is being sized up by oil explorers.

Weather experts at the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the cyclone, which made landfall on Saturday, was characterized by unusually heavy storms.

Latest rainfall data shows the cyclone has subsided after flooding the coastal town of Eyl, Dangaroyo and the Puntland capital Garowe, though heavy rains are still expected inland.

"So far we have confirmed the storm killed 140 people. We are afraid the death toll may reach 300 because many people are still missing. Roads have been cut and the only access to those areas is by air," Abdullahi Ahmed, Puntland's interior minister, told Reuters late on Tuesday.

The U.N. says that according to government estimates, 30,000 people are in need of food, water, shelter and medical supplies. The U.N. estimated that the northern Somali coast got as much rainfall during the storm as in all of 2012 in some areas.

The government said it needed clean water, non-perishable foods, medicines, shelter materials and blankets.

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose country is struggling to rebuild after two decades of civil war, has pledged to send $1 million dollars to the storm-hit region.

Wire services