United Nations agencies have warned that southern African countries are at risk of another year of food shortages. They say the drought-hit region is expected to be hit by above-average rainfall, which can trigger floods and damage crops. The World Food Programme notes that the region is still reeling from the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon which devastated crops, leaving some 18-million people in need of food aid. It says weather forecasters expect the region this year to experience more rainfall than normal due to an extreme weather pattern known as La Nina. The Regional Agricultural Coordinator with the Food and Agricultural Organisation, Lewis Hove, told the French news agency, AFP, the above average rainfall will result in good production from farmers. But, he warned that this will bring floods and water logging in some areas of the region.