Heavy rains have been falling in central Somalia recently and have also affected our project area. The situation is particularly dramatic in the town of Beledweyne, where all residential areas, the town center and neighboring villages have been flooded by the waters of the overflowing Shabelle River. People have taken refuge in higher places and villages. A large number of them are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
First in demand: WASH
Floods have contaminated the water sources from which people in Beledweyne obtain their water and hit sanitation facilities. The municipality faces the daunting task of establishing safe water points, building temporary latrines and promoting hygiene measures to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera. The scale of the task, however, goes far beyond the resources available on the ground. The mayor of Beledweyn is calling on the international community to provide rapid and urgent assistance to the affected people in order to save lives and protect the health of those affected.
Our local partner organization PAH (Polish Humanitarian Action) carried out an initial needs assessment shortly after the disaster. According to this, not only the population is affected, but also many people displaced from other crises and conflicts in their own country. People have left the city and fled to higher places in Ceeljaale, Ceelgaal, Banaaneey, Qowlad and Hiraan Bille. Several of these places can only be reached with the help of tractors, as the main road is completely flooded. PAH reports a great need for relief. Therefore, we urgently call for donations for the arche noVa emergency fund.
Emergency water trucking to 1,000 affected households
In cooperation with local authorities and community leaders, arche noVa's emergency aid will reach 1,000 households displaced from the city. Existentially important is the drinking water supply. With water trucking, we will secure this for a period of 30 days. Each household will receive 45 liters of clean water per day. In addition, PAH is distributing hygiene kits with soaps, buckets and sanitary towels as part of our joint emergency aid. Because the affected people could not take anything with them but what they had on their backs, they also receive sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets and plastic tarpaulins so that they can better protect themselves from the cold and wet in their temporary places of refuge. This mission is rounded off with the construction of 20 communal emergency latrines.
"Humanitarian aid is urgently needed in Somalia. arche noVa is at the side of the people who are experiencing first hand that climate change leads to disasters."
Masses of water on rock-hard soils
The heavy rains at the beginning of the Gu-named rainy season could have a particularly devastating effect because the soils are rock-hard and virtually unable to absorb moisture after five consecutive failed rainy seasons. Somalia, like other countries in East Africa, has suffered from a prolonged drought that has resulted in the loss of livestock and crops, as well as deterioration of vegetation and soil topography. The severe flash floods thus hit people when their coping mechanisms were already depleted.
In Beledweyn, in addition to roads, buildings, telephone lines and clinics, not least the main market that supplied the town with basic necessities was flooded, further exacerbating the situation. Prices for basic necessities have already skyrocketed. Despite the Gu rains that have now come, the threat of famine in Somalia has not been averted. Our commitment in the country, which is marked by many crises, is therefore more in demand than ever before. Read more about arche noVa in Somalia here.
