Moderate to heavy rains will continue in the coming week in Somalia as the country grapples with the impact of unusually heavy rainfall that started in early October, the UN’s refugee agency, UNICEF, has said.
The agency forecast on November 12 that areas that are likely to receive the heaviest rains would be in the Juba-Shabelle basin of southern Somalia, leading to further flash floods.
UNICEF warned that while that the rains are good for recovery from several years of drought in Somalia, the effects of the El Nino phenomenon could aggravate the country’s dire humanitarian crisis particularly in camps for internally displaced people.
According to estimates by the United Nations and Somalia’s government, about 30 people have died and close to 1.2 million others affected by torrential rains and floods since the beginning of October.
That figure includes an estimated 456,000 people who have been uprooted from their homes by floods.
Worst-hit places include the Jubaland and South West regional states, where overcrowded camps for internally displaced people are some of the most affected areas.
Deyr rains
The United Nations humanitarian office, UNOCHA, said on November 9 that its partners and Somali authorities were “sparing no efforts to deliver lifesaving assistance”.
It, however, warned that the delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance was being hampered by Somalia’s poor infrastructure and the effects of the current rains and floods on roads and airstrips.
The Horn of Africa country has two rainy seasons called Gu and Deyr.
The Gu season starts around April and ends in June while Deyr usually lasts from October to December.
This year’s Deyr rains follow one of the worst drought episodes the country has experienced in many years.
They have provided relief to many nomadic communities and alleviated water shorgates in urban centres, but have also brought severe flash floods that left behind a trail of death and destruction.
The government’s SONNA news website has said that the impact of the floods could include the outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera.
