River Overflows in Beledweyne: Panic-stricken Residents Abandon Homes

Tuesday May 9, 2023

Beledweyne (AX) – In a sudden and shocking turn of events, the Shabelle River overflowed and spilled its banks, completely inundating multiple villages near the heart of Somalia’s central region. The powerful river had been amassing an overwhelming volume of water for the past few days and unleashed its force on hapless villages such as Koshin, Howlwadaag, and Bundaweyn. What added to this calamitous event was that these same villages had already suffered through the floods of 2019, and yet again fell prey to nature’s wrath.

With the deluge swiftly invading the entirety of the region, panic quickly ensued and the residence had to flee to the outlying highlands outside the city center to escape the chaos. An uncanny stroke of luck, the entire incident passed through without any casualties, but the damage caused is undoubtedly irrevocable.

On the day prior, the chairperson of the anti-flooding committee of Beledweyne had sounded a warning about the lurking danger of potential flooding in the town. The Shabelle River in Ethiopia had been showing an unusual surge in water flow and the spring rains in Ethiopia had made the matters even worse.

Despite the 64 dams that had been crafted to safeguard the town from any disasters of this kind, the tragic events that unfolded today have proved their inefficiency and shone a light on the gravity of this situation.