El Nino floods affect thousands in Somalia: UN

Flash floods have affected thousands of people in low lying areas of the southern and central parts of Somalia, the UN humanitarian agency has said.

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the heavy rains have destroyed several makeshift shelters, latrines and swept away belongings for thousands of people across the Horn of Africa nation.

"While flooding is recurrent during this time of the year in low-lying areas of Somalia, El Nino conditions have intensified in 2015 and are likely to lead to a wetter than normal Deyr season in parts of the country. At the same time, the El Nino phenomenon is likely to exacerbate drought conditions in Somaliland," OCHA said in its latest report received in Mogadishu on Thursday.

The UN agencies recently ramped up efforts to mitigate the impact of floods and droughts in Somalia driven by the El Nino phenomenon until December, which may worsen the food security and humanitarian situations.

"The immediate humanitarian response to floods is largely community-based, with a particular focus on community-based clearing of drainage systems and raising awareness of further risks," OCHA said, while stressing the urgent need for more financial support to continue its relief work in the country.

The humanitarian partners have developed contingency plans and are scaling up preparedness activities. These operations include "pre-positioning aid supplies and boats in areas most likely to be affected by flooding."

According to the report, parts of northern Somalia and areas along the Juba and Shabelle River basins in Somalia and in the Ethiopian highlands have experienced heavy rains following the start of the Deyr rains.

In southern and central Somalia, flash floods have been reported in Balcad, Buur Hakaba, Jowhar, Mahaday, Mataban, Mogadishu and Qansax Dheere. Further north, flash floods have been reported in Buuhoodle and Gaalkacyo districts.

The FAO-Managed Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM) predict an elevated risk for flooding in Somalia in the short term with more heavy rains expected within the Shabelle basin. Moderate rains are projected in the Juba basin towards the end of October.

"On the basis of analysis of flood prone areas developed by SWALIM, partners have projected that up to 500,000 to 900,000 people could be affected by the El Nino phenomenon," it says.

"Of these, 500,000 to 670,000 people could require life-saving assistance," it said.

El Nino could cause devastating effects in Somalia, such as heavy rains and flooding along Juba and Shabelle rivers, flash floods in central Somalia and Puntland, and worsening droughts in parts of Somaliland, which will put over 600,000 people at risk, according OCHA.

These impacts, however, might be severe for the vulnerable communities already facing dire humanitarian situations in Somalia. Over 3 million people need humanitarian assistance, 1.1 million of whom are internally displaced.

The report says previous El Nino events have caused massive flooding in Somalia. Some 900,000 people were affected in 1997-98 and over 440,000 people were affected in 2006-7. The effects this year could extend several months into 2016. Enditem