{"id":16751,"date":"2025-05-20T10:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T10:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=16751"},"modified":"2025-05-20T10:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T10:12:31","slug":"somalia-faces-rising-hunger-and-flooding-as-climate-shocks-intensify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2025\/05\/20\/somalia-faces-rising-hunger-and-flooding-as-climate-shocks-intensify\/","title":{"rendered":"Somalia faces rising hunger and flooding as climate shocks intensify"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU —<\/strong> Soaring food prices driven by worsening climate shocks are pushing millions of Somali families deeper into crisis, experts warn, as erratic weather devastates crops, kills livestock, and threatens to overwhelm already fragile livelihoods.<\/p>\n

Heavy floods\u00a0triggered by torrential rains since mid-April have killed at least 17 people and displaced over 8,000, tearing through makeshift camps, farmland, and urban districts already straining under the weight of mass displacement. In Banadir, nine people died in a single day when flash floods swept through Kahda and Daynille districts on May 9, destroying more than 1,000 shelters and forcing thousands to flee. At least 84,000 people have been\u00a0affected nationwide, including over 9,500 displaced persons in Gaalkacyo alone.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the country is facing a hunger crisis of staggering scale. According to the United Nations, 4.6 million people across Somalia are grappling with acute food insecurity. At the same time, 1.8 million children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. Many of the hardest-hit communities are also those drowning under floodwaters or displaced by conflict and eviction.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies are being battered on every front \u2014 flood, hunger, and neglect,\u201d said Etienne Peterschmitt, the Somalia representative for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. \u201cWhat little they had is washing away, and the international lifeline is fraying.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says Somalia faces compounding climate extremes \u2014 prolonged drought followed by intense and irregular rains \u2014 that have decimated food production across much of the country. \u201cThese back-to-back shocks are pushing families deeper into crisis,\u201d said Etienne Peterschmitt, FAO\u2019s country representative in Somalia.<\/p>\n

Banadir has become a flashpoint. Since January, over 45,000 internally displaced persons have been forcibly evicted \u2014 more than half of Somalia\u2019s total \u2014 often without warning or alternative shelter. \u201cPeople are being chased from their homes by landlords, then chased from their tents by rising water,\u201d said one aid worker in Mogadishu.<\/p>\n

The rains, though welcomed by some pastoralists in previously drought-stricken areas, have brought devastation to others. In Qardho, 11 schools were damaged, disrupting education for 3,700 children. In Afgooye, overflowing rivers flooded villages and contaminated wells, raising the risk of cholera. In Balcad, roads collapsed, cutting off access to markets. In Gaalkacyo, livestock deaths have topped 1,750, a crippling blow to herders already on the brink.<\/p>\n

Despite these cascading needs, the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan is only 11% funded. Partners have slashed services, including gender-based violence support, reintegration of child soldiers, and access to emergency shelter. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a retreat of aid just as the crisis peaks,\u201d said a UNHCR official. \u201cYou cannot build resilience on empty promises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, small victories offer a glimpse of hope. In Adado, a pilot shelter program gave 117 displaced families climate-resilient homes, with title deeds and access to water, healthcare, and schools. \u201cWe are no longer surviving. We are living,\u201d said Shariifo Osman Elmi, a mother of seven who lost everything during clashes in Harardheere and now lives in one of the new homes.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the federal government has formed an emergency task force with regional authorities and SoDMA to coordinate response efforts. King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre is delivering food and non-food aid to over 3,600 families across nine districts. Partners are also distributing hygiene kits and cash transfers to families in flooded areas.<\/p>\n

But with more heavy rains forecast in Middle Shabelle, Galgaduud, and coastal Mudug, and with much of the country\u2019s infrastructure and services already overwhelmed, aid groups fear the worst is yet to come.<\/p>\n

Somalia has endured cyclical climate shocks for decades \u2014 droughts that starve, floods that drown, and displacement that never ends. But this year, the convergence of underfunded aid, surging needs, and environmental extremes threatens to break even the most resilient communities.<\/p>\n

Source: HOL\u00a0 \u00a0Origin:<\/span> view original<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU — Soaring food prices driven by worsening climate shocks are pushing millions of Somali families deeper into crisis, experts warn, as erratic weather devastates crops, kills livestock, and threatens to overwhelm already fragile livelihoods. Heavy floods\u00a0triggered by torrential rains since mid-April have killed at least 17 people and displaced over 8,000, tearing through makeshift …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16751"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16753,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16751\/revisions\/16753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}