Hiiraan Online
Monday April 30, 2018
President Farmajo travelled to Beledweyne on Monday to assess the damage done by floods. HOL
Beledweyne (HOL) - President Farmajo travelled to Beledweyne on Monday to examine the damage done by days of torrential rain.
Farmajo was welcomed to Beledweyne by Hirshabelle regional President Mohamed Abdi Ware.
While in Beledweyne, President Farmajo met with Ugas Hassan Ugas Khalif, the Ugas, or Sultan, of the Hawadle -- a principal sub-clan of the Hawiye.
According to aid agencies on the ground, close to 150,000 people have been affected after the banks of the Shabelle River burst earlier this week.
The humanitarian disaster has caught aid and relief agencies off guard. Photo’s circulating social media this week showing desperate Beledweyne residents trying to flee to higher ground has sparked an emergency respsonse effort.
HOL reported that families in Hawo-tako, Koshin and Bundaweyn suburbs have been forced to seek shelter on higher ground in the outskirt of Beledweyne town after their houses were submerged and valuables washed away.
President Faramjo, who was expected to travel to Burundi this weekend to attend the CECAFA U-17 finals but cancelled at the last second to address the humanitarian crisis.
The trip marked the first time Farmajo travelled to Beledweyne as the President of Somalia.