After catastrophic drought for 6 years, flash floods in Somalia displace 200,000

After a catastrophic drought for the past 6 years, flash floods in Somalia have now displaced close to 200,000 people. Somalia is a country that has been devastated by extreme weather events in the past couple of years, and conditions have only become worse for this African nation.

According to a report by a United Nations body, riverine floods across Somalia have affected over 450,000 people and around 200,000 are suspected to have been displaced.

The situation in Somalia is not an isolated incident, rather it is happening in other parts of Africa as well. In March 2023, Somalia became one of the countries in the Horn of Africa that entered into its sixth consecutive wet season with no rain.

But things have taken a sharp turn since then. The long rains during the wet season usually start in Kenya and gradually move north to Ethiopia and Somalia. But this time, it started raining simultaneously in all 3 countries.

The amount of rainfall received was also excessive during this season, with parts of Ethiopia receiving 5 to 10 cm more rain than is usual in the first 25 days of March.

Since mid-March 2023, the flash floods in Somalia have killed around 22 people in 17 districts. These figures were part of ‘The first situation report on the floods’ released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) on May 14, 2023.

“Some 200,000 people are now displaced due to the Shabelle River flash floods in Beledweyne town and the number may increase anytime. It is a preliminary figure now,” Ali Osman Hussein, deputy governor for social affairs in the Hiran region (Via AFP).

The flash floods in Somalia are a double whammy for the country’s vulnerable population. For the past few years, the country’s food and water security and livelihoods were devastated by droughts.

At least 43,000 people died due to the drought in Somalia in 2022 and around 4 million people in the region suffered from acute food insecurity. Long-term droughts such as the one in the Horn of Africa region — in southern parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and eastern Kenya, are made 100 times more likely by climate change.

Earlier this month, 135 people were killed and more than 9,000 were left homeless after heavy rains lashed Rwanda, triggering floods and landslides.Over 400 people died due to torrential downpours, floods and landslides last week in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN report noted that despite the overwhelming flooding, this weather change will require much more rainfall to alleviate the impact of the recent drought effectively.

The ongoing rains are expected to recharge surface water sources and enable vegetation to regenerate. The UN report also said its partners were implementing a national flood preparedness and response plan but would need urgent funding to meet increasing needs. Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected over several areas in Somalia between May 10 and 17.