Escaping the Somalian Floods
New unregistered IDP (internally displaced people) camps located in Mogadishu, Somalia, are overcrowded with displaced families from the recent torrential floods. The displacement crisis began at the start of the rainy season in October 2023 and comes six months after the country emerged from one of its worst droughts in four decades. An unfortunate number of 750,000 people have been displaced from their homes, with over 100 people killed by the floods.
The situation unfolds as millions of Somalis continue to grapple with malnutrition and hunger. The historic drought brought Somalia to the brink of widespread famine. Now, the floods have washed away nearly 1.5 million hectares of agricultural land. Hunger is apparent across these new IDP camps. Most families are farmers and have lost their means to survive. Multiple mothers at the camps express with sincere sorrow that they can only provide one meal daily, usually just plain rice, for their families.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) confirms that 2023 has been the hottest year on record. Countries around the world live with the impacts of climate change. Somalia is considered one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Flash floods have also killed dozens of people in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the seasonal rains had worsened by the combined impact of two climate phenomena - El Niño and the more localized Indian Ocean Dipole, referring to the differences in sea