Sunday March 26, 2023
Somali Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) Commissioner Mohamud Moalim (pictured) delivered two planes carrying cargo, including food, medicines and clothes.
Mogadishu (HOL) - Severe flooding has ravaged Somalia's Bardhere District, causing casualties and displacing thousands of people. In response to the devastation, the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) is mobilizing aid efforts to provide relief to the affected region. The country experienced moderate rainfall during the week of March 12, marking an early start to the Gu (April-May-June) rainy season, Somalia's primary wet season. The heaviest downpours were recorded in the Gedo and Bay regions, particularly in the Baardheere, Wanle Wayne, Luuq, and Doolow districts. Heavy rain has led to widespread flooding, damaged infrastructure, and prompted evacuations.
SODMA is addressing the hardships faced by thousands in the flood-stricken Bardhere District. Devastating floods have destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes, washed away food stores and crops, and displaced thousands, according to a press release issued by SODMA on March 25. Severe flash floods claimed 14 lives, including three members of a single family, as confirmed by District Commissioner Mohamed Weli Yusuf on Saturday.
SODMA's team, led by Commissioner Mohamud Moalim, visited Bardhere on Saturday to meet with those affected by the flooding. He was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management of Jubaland State of Somalia. The disaster agency convened an urgent meeting with over 50 humanitarian partners and stakeholders on Saturday to appeal for urgent relief and recovery efforts.
SODMA is urging humanitarian actors to scale up their response by providing food, temporary shelter, water purification tablets, medicine, and other supplies, focusing on the people and areas most affected.
The disaster agency has planned to provide 60 metric tons of food to support local emergency efforts.
SODMA's National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) and Jubbaland's Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management will coordinate relief efforts.
Floodwaters have also impacted two Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) sites, affecting over 8,000 IDPs and damaging multiple structures. Due to ongoing heavy rainfall, authorities are concerned about the increased risk of Juba River flooding in the Bardhere, Bu'aale, Jilib, and Saakow districts.
In Galmudug State, low-lying areas of Adaado Town, including the Karaama and Waaberi neighbourhoods, as well as parts of Dhuusamarreeb Town, are submerged. Floods have also impacted seven IDP sites in the southern part of Galkayo City.
Flash floods in Jalam Town, located in Puntland State's Burtinle District, Nugaal Region, have displaced hundreds of people and severely damaged property and infrastructure. Additionally, flooding has destroyed shelters in five IDP camps in South West State, displacing over 2,750 people in Baidoa Town.
Disruptions in flood-affected areas are expected to persist. With the rainy season predicted to last through June, further rainfall and thunderstorms could exacerbate the situation, hindering relief efforts. Aid agencies are concerned about a likely decline in living conditions, particularly for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) residing in overcrowded settlements.
The Horn of Africa is among the regions most vulnerable to climate change, with increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that nearly 100,000 people in Somalia were facing catastrophic hunger levels due to the region's worst drought in four decades.