Over 200,000 people have been displaced by recent flooding in Somalia, according to the United Nations, with more rain expected in the Juba and Shabelle river basins.
In a report of 11 May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 16 people have died, 546,103 affected and 216,895 displaced since the Gu’ rains started in early April.
OCHA said; “At least 27 districts are inundated; the worst being Belet Weyne in Hiran Region where riverine flooding has displaced more than 115,000 people, according to the district flood taskforce. This includes about 91,000 people who have been displaced from the four sections of the town and 23,220 people from 23 riverine villages. The flooding resulted from a sharp rise in the level of the Shabelle river following heavy rains in Somalia and the Ethiopian highlands. According to the taskforce, more people were fleeing their homes as river levels rise.”
In Jowhar district, further down river Shabelle in Lower Shabelle region, more than 17,300 people were affected by floods after a river embankment broke. OCHA said an estimated 50,000 people people have been affected by floods in Lower Shabelle region and some 83,000 people in Bay region.
Eight people died in flash floods in Qardho town in Puntland on 27 April. Over 22,000 were displaced and a total of 48,000 affected.
In Galmudug Region, flooding on 02 May displaced around 12,000 in Hobyo district. Two people died and 25 were injured.
Flooding from the Dawa river has damaged hundreds of farms in Gedo Region.
Featured image: for illustration only – Floods in Somalia, May 2016. Photo copyright: Maryama Dayib, used with permission
