Torrential rainfall is the heavy down pour that can trigger deadly events when the heavy rains “runs off” the land instead of seeping into the ground thereby causing flood. According to the Somali government this heavy rainfall has killed at least 31 people in various parts of Somalia.
Residents in Beledweyne, in central Somalia, could be seen wading through floodwaters on Monday November 13,2023.
Local resident Ahmed Idow described the situation in the area as “extremely bad,” adding that “people are running for their lives because of the force of the water. Some people are using tractors to get through.”
Floods have moved nearly half a million people and disrupted the lives of over 1.2 million people from October till now, The Minister of Information Daud Aweis told reporters on Sunday November 12,2023 in the capital of Somalia “Mogadishu”.
It has also caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure notably in the Gedo region of southern Somalia, he said.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, which has given $25 million to help mitigate the impact of flooding, warned in a statement “a flood event of a magnitude statistically likely only once in 100 years, with significant anticipated humanitarian impacts.”
Floods are also affecting neighboring Kenya, where the death toll stood at 15 on Monday November 13,2023, according to the Kenya Red Cross. The port city of Mombasa and the northeastern counties of Mandera and Wajir are the worst affected.
