DOLOW: The floodwaters in the southwestern Somali district of Dolow may have started to recede — for now — but distraught families who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the muddy deluge are now at risk of potentially fatal disease.
Shukri Abdi Osman, a 34-year-old mother of 3, is sheltering in a camp for the displaced in Dolow with her children, among around seven hundred families forced to flee as flash floods engulfed many parts of town, AFP reported.
Shukri said that she had never seen such devastating floods before; everything happened quickly. When they realized the water was coming, it was too late to collect all their belongings. They left their houses at midnight, and all were able to grab only their children.
As the family breadwinner, Shukri said she thought she had a bright future, with plans to expand her flourishing vegetable and fruit kiosk in the Garbolow neighbourhood of Dolow, which is situated on the Juba River near the Ethiopia border.
However, she said, they ended up here in this IDP settlement, hopelessly waiting for the situation to change. Their business is gone, their property is destroyed, and their house is engulfed in water. And now, the disease is posing a threat to her family.
She said that the toilets were destroyed, and even the tap water is now mixed with the dirty flood water, which includes leaking septic tanks.
Shukri added that the situation is very tough now in this camp with her daughter feeling unwell; she might have already contracted malaria and typhoid.
Somalia’s Government Declares State of Emergency After Floods
Somalia’s government has declared a state of emergency over what the United Nations (UN) has called “once-in-a-century” flooding, with almost one hundred lives lost across the country and 700,000 people made homeless.
Torrential rains linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon have lashed the Horn of Africa on the heels of the worst drought in forty years that drove millions to the brink of famine in Somalia.
It is considered one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change, locked in a vicious cycle of drought and floods.
But is particularly ill-equipped to cope with the calamities as it battles deep poverty and a deadly insurgency.
Mohamed Dahir, water and sanitation officer with US charity Mercy Corps, said that humanitarian agencies are now concerned about those vulnerable to disease.
He said that the possibility of a malaria outbreak is high due to the mosquitos, and there are also worries about watery diarrhea breaking out because of the possible contamination of the water system.
