Authorities in Beledweyne city of the Hiran region have appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance to hundreds of families displaced by the floods in the agricultural town on Wednesday.
Residents moved to El Jale location in the outskirt of the town after river Shabelle bursts its banks following heavy rains in the past week.
“We contacted relief organizations as local administration on this latest challenge, the displaced population need urgent help.” Said the deputy governor of Hiran region, Sheikh Hussein Osman.
Residential areas and swathes of farmlands were affected by this latest flood for the second time this year.
“We were displaced by water from our homes, we don’t have clean water, shelter, and latrines.” Halima Omar, one of the displaced families recounted.
According to locals the overflow of the seasonal river Shabelle is linked to heavy rains in neighboring Ethiopia and spillover of dams from across the border.
Late last month, the ministry of emergency relief and humanitarian affairs has dispatched apparatus installed near the river to monitor the water level to avert the impact of the flood disaster.
