At least 14 killed in flash floods in Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia | Xinhua |  Flash and riverine floods caused by heavy rains have killed at least 14 people in Somalia, the United Nations humanitarian agency said Saturday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said since the start of the 2023 seasonal deyr (October to December) rains, floods have affected at least 405,652 people, with deaths mostly in four federal member states.

“The majority of those affected are living within their settlements, but at least 47,000 people have relocated to higher grounds to avoid the risk of flooding,” OCHA said in the latest Flash Update released in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The latest update came after the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Somalia Water and Land Information Management (FAO-SWALIM) on Friday warned of a high risk of riverine flooding along the entire stretch of the Juba River, particularly in the Gedo region in southern Somalia and flash flooding in low-lying areas in Bakool regions of southwestern Somalia.

FAO-SWALIM said there has been a notable increase in both the amount and intensity of rainfall in the Gedo region and the Ethiopian highlands in the recent past.

The floods come after the worst drought in four decades following five failed rainy seasons, which has decimated livestock and crops, pushing the country to the brink of famine.

According to humanitarian agencies, the floods are the latest in a series of extreme weather events in recent years to hit Somalia, where communities find themselves at the sharp end of the global climate crisis.

According to the UN, the forecast for the Nov. 1-7 period anticipates extremely heavy rainfall over the Gedo, Lower Juba, Hiran, and Togdheer regions of southern and central Somalia and moderate to heavy rainfall over several other parts except for the Bari region and coastal areas of the country, where light rains are expected.

OCHA said at least 268,000 people, mostly displaced people, have been affected in the South West and 90,000 in Jubaland states. The UN agency said the floods have cut off access to markets and farms, with more than 4,000 hectares of farmland having been inundated in the Gedo region, affecting more than 6,000 farmers. ■