IRIN
SOMALIA: Floods displace thousands more in Hiiraan region
14 November 2006


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

NAIROBI, 14 November (IRIN) - Continued flooding in southern Somalia has 
displaced tens of thousands of people in the Hiiraan region, with large 
tracts of farmland submerged in and around Beletweyne, the region's 
capital, sources said on Tuesday.

A journalist, Abdirahman Dini, said rain-induced floods caused the 
Shabelle River to burst its banks and flood Beletweyne, 350 km northwest 
of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

"The floods have displaced around 80 percent of the population of the 
eastern part of the town and 20 percent of the western part," Sheikh 
Farah Mo'alim, the governor of Hiiraan, told IRIN on Tuesday.

Mo'alim added, "Most of those displaced are now camped at Jenta Kundishe 
[15 km to the northeast of Beletweyne], which is on a higher elevation."

He said many heads of livestock had been lost and huge tracts of 
farmland flooded.

Save the Children-UK (SC-UK), a relief agency operating in the region, 
said up to 65,000 people had been displaced so far.

"Our estimate is that 50,000 people have been displaced in Beletweyne 
and another 15,000 in the outlying villages," Toby Porter, SC-UK's 
director of emergencies, said.

El Khidir Daloun, the director of SC-UK Somalia programme, said: "Our 
priority is to get aid to these people as quickly as possible before 
this emergency situation turns into a humanitarian crisis."

"This is a one in 10-year flood event," Porter said on Tuesday.

The worst affected areas are Beletweyne and villages to the north and 
south of the town. People have moved to elevated areas in the east and 
west of town.

"But many are marooned in their neighbourhoods, because the only working 
bridge was washed away. People are using boats to move around the town," 
said Dini.

Dini said the water levels of the river were still rising, creating fear 
of more flooding. Water levels have already passed 8.3 metres - flood 
warnings tend to start at around five metres, according to SC-UK.

"Dealing with shelter and water contamination are our main concerns as 
the floodwater has swamped latrines and shallow wells and people are now 
exposed to the elements," Porter said. "There is a very real possibility 
of cholera or other water-borne diseases rapidly spreading - especially 
among children."

Many parts of Somalia are experiencing the short 'Deyr' rains 
(September-December), which have been above average this year. Heavy 
rain in neighbouring Ethiopia has caused the rivers downstream in 
Somalia to swell, leading to the flooding.

A Somali agronomist told IRIN that since the collapse of the Somali 
government in 1991, no-one had been able "to de-silt the riverbeds or 
manage the sluice gates on the rivers or adjoining canals", thereby 
exacerbating the flood threat.

Local farmers had also cut into river embankments to irrigate their 
land, which contributed to the seasonal flooding.


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