ENVIRONMENT AND DISASTERS

BALADWEYNE – Thousands are fleeing Baladweyne town after residents of three districts were forced to evacuate and breaches allowed floods to sweep through the town in Somalia’s south. Residents say Shabelle river has been overflowing its defenses over the past few days and high tides merged with the heavy runoff …

DJIBOUTI — The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) has warned that new swarms of the desert locust are forming in the Eastern Africa region. The organization says locust swarms have been reported in the last 6-weeks in northwestern Kenya, southern, northern and northeastern Ethiopia, northwest and northeastern Somalia. …

MOGADISHU — Severe flooding continues to displace thousands of people in Somalia. The government in recent days issued new warnings to communities living along the Jubba and Shabelle rivers. It said rains in the highlands of neighboring Ethiopia could lead to flash floods in towns such as Jowhar and Beledweyne. …

MOGADISHU — The Italian government has approved USD six million to finance flood prevention mechanisms in Somalia Hirshabelle state. The news was confirmed during a meeting between the deputy ambassador of Italy to Somalia Fabio Masimo and the leader of Hirshabelle state Mohamed Abdi Ware in Mogadishu on Saturday. The funds …

MOGADISHU  — The Federal Government has appealed to residents of storms-affected regions in Jubbaland to be vigilant warning the situation is still unpredictable following the death of ten people Friday. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs while condoling with families of those who lost their lives called for vigilance as storms …

MOGADISHU — Flash floods caused by seasonal rains have affected about 191,800 people in Somalia since May and July, causing a humanitarian crisis in the regions affected, the UN humanitarian agency said on Thursday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said residents have been displaced by …

MOGADISHU — The weather forecast has predicted heavy rains for the next seven days in parts of the southern and northern provinces of the country, SONNA reported. Heavy rains experienced in Ethiopian highlands are feared to course the rising levels of River Shabelle and Juba, hence could lead to the …

BAIDOA — The minister for humanitarian affairs and disaster management of southwest state took part in a meeting to discuss the impact of floods. He thanked aid agencies and international organizations who are taking part in the humanitarian efforts to rescue the people affected by river Shebelle flooding.  He reminded …

MOGADISHU — A fire has broke out at a shop in Mogadishu’s Bondhere district on Saturday. The fire started and spread, and the flames got higher even as locals tried dropping water according to residents. No casualties have been reported. “The past months I have been having problems with electricity,” …

MOGADISHU — The federal government of Somalia announced Wednesday $500,000 to help thousands of victims affected by floods. Flooding has caused mass displacement, shortages of food, and clean water and is worsened by an invasion of desert locusts which have fed on green plants that could be used for food. Somalia …