The Somali Disaster Management Agency and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia on Tuesday convened a meeting at the Agency head quarters to discuss preparations for the upcoming Spring rainy season (GU’), which is anticipated to bring about significant flooding.
During the meeting, the director of National Emergency Operations Centre Hassan Isse stressed the importance of preparing evacuation sites, supplies, and life-saving aid, including boats, food, and medicine, in advance of the onset of rains to ensure prompt and effective life-saving assistance.
They also discussed the importance of closer cooperation between the two agencies in mitigating the effects of the heavy rains to avoid death and destruction of property.
In 2023 , the severe impacts of heavy torrential rains known as El-Nino worsened an already dire situation by devastating homes and disrupted livelihoods.
Over 100 people were killed by the deluge floods that affected many parts of the country and also causing the displacement of over 2 million people.
For the past decades, Somalia has seen frequent natural hazards with increased intensity and complexity and their impacts have had significant implications for the country. Floods and droughts are particularly the two natural cyclic events that frequently affect the country and leading to repeated loss of lives, crops and livestock.