MOGADISHU, Aug. 19 — Somalia and its humanitarian partners have intensified flood preparedness across high-risk areas to counter potential El Nino impacts, with peak weather risks anticipated between September and December, the United Nations (UN) relief agency said on Tuesday.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), core measures focus on risk analysis, contingency planning, resource mapping and early warning messaging in designated hotspots. “The forecast points to an increased risk of riverine and flash flooding, reinforcing the need for early preparedness actions, anticipatory interventions, community awareness, and the pre-positioning of humanitarian supplies before October,” OCHA said in its latest humanitarian update. The El Nino threat comes as many Somali communities struggle to recover from compounding climate shocks, including severe drought, localized flooding, ongoing conflict and displacement. OCHA said humanitarian partners across Somalia are deploying risk analysis, contingency planning and early warning systems in key hotspots. It said national and regional coordination is being strengthened to ensure a swift response in the event of severe flooding.”Efforts are underway to strengthen coordination and readiness at national and sub-national levels to enable a faster and more effective response should flooding occur,” OCHA said. According to the relief agency, early action remains critical to protecting lives and livelihoods and preventing predictable flooding from escalating into a larger humanitarian crisis. It said humanitarian partners are actively evaluating flood risks across Jubaland in southern Somalia, prioritizing enhanced contingency plans, pre-positioned relief supplies, designated evacuation routes and strengthened coordination mechanisms, with a particular focus on zones hardest hit during the 2023 El Nino floods.
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