Somalia swamped by once-in-a-century flooding after historic drought: UN

The United Nations has described floods that uprooted hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia and neighbouring countries in East Africa following a historic drought as a once-in-a-century event.

Internally displaced Somali children wade through flood waters outside their makeshift shelters following heavy rains on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, on November 2023. © REUTERS - FEISAL OMAR

Around 1.6 million people in Somalia could be affected by the heavy seasonal downpours.

These have been worsened by the combined impact of two climate phenomenons, El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement late on Thursday.

The floods, which followed heavy rains that started in early October, have already killed at least 29 people and forced more than 300,000 from their homes in Somalia, and inundated towns and villages across northern Kenya.

Camps for people displaced by an Islamist insurgency and the worst drought in four decades have also been flooded, causing people to flee for a second time, aid groups say.

Large-scale displacement, increased humanitarian needs and further destruction of property remain likely, OCHA said, with some 1.5 million hectares of farmland potentially being destroyed.

Funds released by OCHA – $10M from @UNCERF & $15M from @shf_somalia – will support efforts to prevent loss of life, stem disease outbreaks, & address food insecurity amidst the ongoing emergency caused by heavy rains & floods in #Somalia.

➡️Press Release: https://t.co/xQBY3rM1fc pic.twitter.com/ReE48nEI2G

— OCHA Somalia (@OCHASom) November 9, 2023

"Extreme weather linked to the ongoing El Niño risks further driving up humanitarian needs in already-vulnerable communities in Somalia and many other places," said Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General, the UN's Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

"We know what the risks are, and we need to get ahead of these looming crises," he said.

The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, and extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity.

Since late 2020, Somalia as well as parts of Ethiopia and Kenya have been suffering the region's worst drought in 40 years.

At the end of 2019, at least 265 people died and tens of thousands were displaced during two months of relentless rainfall in several countries in East Africa.

The extreme weather affected close to two million people and washed away tens of thousands of livestock in Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

 (with newswires)