ENVIRONMENT AND DISASTERS

MOGADISHU —  A section of Somali International University was this morning engulfed in fire following a suspected electric fault. Fire fighters were able to put off the fire before it spread to other buildings in the university located at Hamar Jadid area in Mogadishu. There was no immediate comment from …

NAIROBI — The greater horn of Africa region will experience suppressed rainfall from October to December, worsening an already fragile food and water security situation, says a forecast from Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) issued in Nairobi on Thursday. “A drier than usual season is forecasted across Eastern Africa from …

Somalia, like many countries, is affected by frequent climate-related hazards such as floods, droughts and tropical storms. Flood frequency has increased in Somalia over the past 20 years, resulting in the disruption of people’s livelihoods and the economy at large. Climate change – compounded with other factors such as low ability to adapt, a rapidly …

MOGADISHU — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said it has scaled up intensive aerial control operations against numerous immature swarms in northwest Somalia. In its latest update released on Thursday evening, the UN food agency said there was no locust seen during surveys in the …

MOGADISHU — Twelve soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Wednesday completed a training on aircraft rescue and firefighting, to enhance their ability to respond to aviation emergency situations at the airport.  The eight weeks training conducted in Mogadishu, was facilitated by the United Nations Support …

MOGADISHU — The UK has reaffirmed its sanctions on charcoal imports from Somalia warning of prison sentences for violations. In its updated version of the sanctions following exit from the EU, the UK government announced this week the sanctions are in conformity with previous UN Security Council sanctions. “This good …

LONDON — Some 41 million people worldwide are at at imminent risk of famine, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday, saying soaring prices for basic foods were compounding existing pressures on food security. Another half a million are already experiencing famine-like conditions, said the WFP’s Executive …

MOGADISHU — Recent floods in Somalia’s southern province of Middle Shabelle displaced thousands of families and destroyed crops on vast agricultural land. Jowhar town, the administrative capital of Hirshabelle State, and its surrounding areas were heavily hit by the floods, threatening a dire humanitarian crisis in the region. Mohamed Abdullahi …

MOGADISHU — Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Roble vowed on Thursday to devise a new strategy to mitigate and find a lasting solution to the perennial flooding affecting thousands of people in the southern region. Roble who toured the flood-hit areas in the southeast region said he witnessed the unfolding of …

MOGADISHU — The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said Monday it had distributed food and non-food relief items to flood-hit vulnerable people in Jowhar town in south Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region after heavy rains washed away their homes and destroyed crops and livestock. Maow Addow, the community-based liaison officer …