More than 800,000 people in Somalia face the threat of displacement over the coming three months as severe flooding approaches. The UN migration agency issued the warning on Wednesday.
Somalia is entering a rainy season marked by above-average rainfall. The International Organization for Migration stated that the situation is worsened by the strengthening El Nino weather phenomenon.
Fresh projections compiled by the agency and the Danish Refugee Council indicate that 874,319 individuals could be driven from their homes between October and December. Flooding alone accounts for 92 percent of this projected movement.
Manuel Marques Pereira, the chief of mission for the agency in Somalia, spoke from Geneva about the looming crisis. We are looking at the possibility of hundreds of thousands of people losing their homes in just a matter of weeks, he told reporters.
Many of these families have already been displaced before and have very little left to fall back on, Pereira added.
There is still time to reduce the impact, but that window is closing, Pereira said. We urgently need funding to help people protect their homes and livelihoods, reach safer ground where necessary, and avoid another cycle of displacement.
The migration agency reported that it has only managed to secure 14 percent of the $16.62 million required to properly prepare for and respond to the El Nino-related floods.
Early signs of the disaster are already appearing across the region. Rivers are approaching flood levels, reaching the tops of their banks, and heavy rainfall has already damaged homes.
Rising floodwaters threaten more than just residential areas. The deluge could destroy crops, contaminate vital water sources, and completely cut off access to essential services.
In response to the mounting danger, the agency issued a call for urgent international support to scale up preparedness efforts before the floodwaters fully hit.
The UN weather agency stated that the current El Nino event could reach unprecedented strength. Meanwhile, the UN aid chief emphasised that Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya require emergency supplies within the next two weeks ahead of the heavy rains.
