Friday April 14, 2023
FILE - Young boys of Hawa-taako walk through a section of the flooded residential area in Belet Weyne, Somalia (2018). UN Photos
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somalia is grappling with catastrophic floods that have impacted approximately 175,000 people, a sharp increase from 100,000 just two weeks prior and displaced 140,000 individuals. The most severely affected areas are the Baardheere district in Jubaland State and Baidoa in Southwest State, where shelters and farmland have been obliterated, livestock washed away, roads rendered impassable, and schools forced to close.
As
torrential rains continue, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are increasingly concerned about potentially exacerbating waterborne diseases, such as cholera and acute watery diarrhea. Since January, at least 4,000 suspected cholera cases and 17 associated deaths have been reported. If the downpours persist, the flooding could affect up to 1.6 million people, potentially displacing over 600,000.
To combat the crisis, the UN and its partners have provided assistance to at least 111,000 people, including food, shelter, cash assistance, and hygiene kits. They have also been rehabilitating latrines and pre-positioning cholera kits and investigation tools. Despite these efforts, this year's $2.6 billion Humanitarian Response Plan remains only 15% funded, resulting in a pressing need for additional resources to secure food, shelter, health, and other necessities.
These floods, which began in mid-March, have already
claimed over 21 lives in the Bardhere district of Jubaland State. The disaster follows five consecutive seasons of drought that have displaced more than 1.4 million Somalis and led to the death of 3.8 million livestock since mid-2021.