By: Isra Ahmed Fuad

Wednesday, May 24, 2023 02:00 AM

A great flood is overflowing Somalia A few days ago, after a severe drought in the African country as a result of a lack of rain in the fifth season, the United Nations warned of the huge humanitarian consequences of the catastrophic floods, which resulted in the displacement of approx. Half a million people in the center of the country at a time when Somalia is also suffering from the consequences of desert locust invasion and the outbreak of the coronavirus “Covid-19”.

In his latest assessment, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia, Justin Brady, confirmed that the worsening crisis in Somalia threatens public security, as nearly 500,000 people have been displaced due to recent floods in the central region. In regions of Somalia, the country is also dealing with a serious locust invasion that threatens food security and nutrition for many, while Somalia is responding to a coronavirus pandemic, according to the Somali National Agency.

At least 22 people have been killed in rain and river floods in Somalia, according to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs.

In light of floods, desert locust invasions and the spread of the coronavirus, he called on everyone to lend a helping hand to avert the worst in Somalia.

For his part, the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Somalia, Etienne Peterschmidt, warned that by next September, the number of Somalis facing food insecurity or acute hunger will increase by half a million people. For the effects of the current desert locust outbreak in Somalia.

Somalia was surprised by heavy rains in the southern and central parts of the country, flooding an area of ​​more than 20 square kilometers in Beledwein town in Hiran region of Harshabelle state on the Shabelle River. leading to the displacement of thousands.

Apart from Baldwin, towns, villages and cities in the south and center of the country were flooded.

Flooding of the Shebelle River inundated four neighborhoods that make up Baldwin town and 25 villages and towns near the river, forcing residents of those areas to evacuate their homes, the disaster management ministry said. Humanitarian affairs in the local state of Hirschpel.

The director general of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs in Hirshabelle State, Abdel Fattah Muhammad, said that as a result of the monsoon rains, the water level of the Shabelle River has risen and the river has flooded. 70% of the city was inundated.

The city administration used rubber boats and bulldozers to move around the city and rescue people trapped in areas besieged by floodwaters, the ministry reported, adding that at least 3 people were killed as a result of the floods.

Earlier this month, heavy rains in Rwanda caused floods and landslides in many parts of the mountainous country, killing 135 people and displacing more than 9,000.

Over 400 people died last week in eastern DRC due to rains, floods and landslides.

In parts of Somalia, as well as in Kenya and Ethiopia, 5 consecutive seasons of no rain resulted in the region’s worst drought in 4 decades, destroying livestock and crops and forcing at least 1.7 million people to flee their homes. Search for food and water.

Somali Ministry of Health, World Health Organization and UN. A study published by the agency UNICEF warned in March that the effects of the drought in Somalia could kill between 18,100 and 34,200 people in the first six months of the year. The United Nations has appealed for $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa country, but the UN agency has so far collected only 15% of the required funds.