IRIN
SOMALIA: Battered by floods
30 November 2006


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

MOGADISHU, 30 November (IRIN) - Madey Ali was one of five men trying to 
rescue an old woman from the jaws of a crocodile when he was swept into 
the reptile-infested waters in Balad district of Somalia's Middle 
Shabelle region.

"Madey Ali tried to swim across the river," his cousin Osman Shiiqow 
said on Tuesday. "As he was crossing the river, a crocodile appeared and 
took him."

The 45-year-old family man was desperate to locate his four wives and 
children, who had been separated from him in the rush to escape raging 
flood waters. But as soon as Madey realised the crocodiles would eat the 
old woman, he called his four friends and they plunged in to attempt a 
rescue.

"We could do nothing except to climb the nearby trees to save 
ourselves," Shiiqow added.

According to local leaders in southern Somalia, about 24 people have 
been eaten by crocodiles since the rivers burst their banks more than a 
month ago. Flooding has inundated large parts of the country, and 
affected at least 1.8 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.


Health risks

According to the United Nations, those affected are also facing problems 
of disease from overflowing latrines and hunger. The World Health 
Organization (WHO) said the hygiene and sanitation conditions in the 
affected areas were threatening an increase in communicable diseases. In 
Hiran, for example, 70 percent of latrines have been destroyed. "The 
number of diarrhoeal cases in the flood-affected areas is on the 
increase and cholera has been confirmed in Jilib district in Middle 
Juba," the agency said on Wednesday.

"Health facilities in the flood-affected areas have been disrupted with 
damage or loss of equipment, supplies and vehicles," WHO added. "Service 
providers and patients are facing difficulties in accessing health 
facilities as roads have been cut off by the floods."

The flooding started when Juba and Shabelle rivers, which flow from the 
Ethiopian highlands, swelled after heavy rains and burst their banks in 
October. Nearly 400,000 people have been affected by the surging waters, 
which have also inundated farmland, especially in Lower Juba, 
particularly around the towns of Buaale, Jilib and Jamaame. This number 
is expected to rise to 900,000 if rains continue up to January 2007, as 
predicted by some analysts.

"It is a huge humanitarian crisis," Eric Laroche, UN Humanitarian 
Coordinator for Somalia, said last week, adding that US$15 million or 
more would be required for the flood emergency in Somalia, depending on 
how severe the situation becomes.


Unsafe water

Residents are terrified that even if the water level goes down, they 
will continue to suffer from the impact. "We are at risk - either from 
the water or the crocodiles," Hajiya Madina Harun, a resident of one 
submerged village, said. "Apart from diseases, we also don't have food 
or mosquito nets and we are weak."

To cope, villagers say they sometimes climb trees to keep safe from 
possible attack by crocodiles and eat the leaves for food. But it is the 
pungent smell of decaying debris that makes it even tougher to live in 
the villages. "The flood water is badly contaminated," said Haji Hassan 
Ahmed Add, manager of a local rescue committee organised by the Union of 
Islamic Courts, which controls much of southern Somalia. "It has an 
offensive odour and is full of worms, larva, maggots and other insects. 
I am afraid this will cause future problems."

Mohamed Bocor Omar, the community health officer of Balad, said fears 
had grown that the affected people may face long-term environmental 
problems. "The people are trapped in areas where the inhalation of 
contaminated oxygen will cause them health difficulties. The rescuers 
are also facing problems when they work two or three days in the area 
because the air is not clean."

At the Jameco Misra river intersection where the Damaley and Muki Dhere 
rivers meet, 25 km from Balad district, people have stopped using the 
river water. For a very wide area there is a foul smell that gives 
people headaches and makes them cough.

"The tragedy is widespread," said Abdullahi Ali Hassan, director of the 
Center for Education and Development, an NGO that is providing emergency 
relief in the villages around Balad. "I am afraid there will be future 
problems if people don't get a quick response to save them from the 
contaminated flood water."

Latest forecasts show the rains eased last week, especially in the mid- 
and head-water areas of the Jubba and Shabelle River Basins, but 
flooding remains a serious threat in areas towards the coast as water 
continues downriver. Experts say there is also a threat of heavy rains 
in head-water areas of the Shabelle River over the next week, as well as 
in the lower Jubba Basin, increasing the likelihood of flooding in these 
areas.

The UN is planning to launch an appeal for about US $12 million to 
support the work of various agencies and NGOs trying to help those 
affected.


IRIN-CEA
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Email: IRIN@ocha.unon.org

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