UN agencies respond to river flooding in Southern Somalia

Nairobi, 7 November - UN Agencies, along with local and international partners, are working to save lives and protect agricultural land across flood-affected areas of southern Somalia. Heavy seasonal rainfall in catchment areas of the Juba and Shabelle Rivers has led to rising water levels and limited flooding.
On Wednesday, senior UN officials, including the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative and staff from the World Food Programme (WFP), flew to the affected area to conduct an aerial survey.

Already, more than 750,000 people face a serious humanitarian crisis across Somalia, following the failure of the main Gu season (May - July) rains in key food producing areas. Drought conditions away from the riverine areas have left thousands of families without access to food, and malnutrition rates have risen dramatically in the past three months.

"Let's be clear. The current river flooding will not alleviate drought conditions. These different events are happening at the same time in different locations," says Randolph Kent, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. "Flooding along the Juba and Shabelle Rivers will in fact increase hardship if riverine crops are destroyed."

River flooding in southern Somalia is a chronic seasonal problem. While many parts of southern Somalia still have not received rain, heavy rains in Ethiopia have caused the rivers downstream in Somalia to swell. On November 2, the Juba River burst its banks near Jilib town. An estimated 1300 families were displaced from nearby villages. Although the Shabelle River has not yet flooded, water levels are high and minor floods are likely to occur in the coming week.

From bases in Kismayo (Lower Juba region), Jowhar (Middle Shabelle region) and Baidoa (Bay region) towns, UNICEF is responding to flood-affected families in Somalia. On 2 November, UNICEF dispatched a team of aid workers to provide displaced households with emergency materials including plastic sheeting, blankets, and mosquito nets.

Assessments of additional requirements for medical, food and seed assistance are being conducted in conjunction with WFP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organisation (WHO), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

FAO is chairing the Floods Task Force in the Somalia Aid Coordination Body (SACB), which includes UN Agencies, NGOs and donor representatives. The Floods Task Force has been monitoring rainfall patterns in river catchment areas and water levels in the Juba and Shabelle Rivers. Flood watch alerts were issued by the Task Force in September and October this year, in order to pre-warn aid agencies and Somali communities. In response, UNICEF and other agencies had already pre-positioned stocks of medical and shelter supplies as part of their emergency preparedness plans.

Longer-term reconstruction efforts to prevent floods have been undertaken by FAO and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Wherever security conditions have enabled aid agency access, these efforts included the reconstruction of river embankments destroyed or weakened by flooding following the 1997/8 El Nino weather phenomenon.

Despite the best efforts of international aid agencies, seasonal flooding in Somalia is inevitable. Since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, no local or regional authorities have been able to de-silt the riverbeds or manage sluice gates on the rivers or adjoining canals. Further, local farmers often cut into river embankments in order to irrigate their farmlands, but generate floods instead.

UN agencies call upon Somali communities to ensure secure conditions for access, in order to allow urgent humanitarian activities to be carried out.

For further information, please contact:

Andre Le Sage
Humanitarian Affairs Officer
UN Coordination Unit for Somalia
Tel: +254-2-448-434.
Fax: +254 2 448439
Email: andre@undp.org

Sonya Laurence Green
Information Officer
UN Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator's Office for Somalia
Tel: +254-2-448-434
Fax: +254 2 448439
Email: sonya.green@undp.org