galleryj
Nairobi (AX) — With Somalia bracing for potentially severe El Niño-related flooding, the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) is training 72 people, including 60 community volunteers, to support emergency response operations along the Juba and Shabelle rivers, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said this week.
- Advertisement -
Supported by the ICRC, the training is being held in flood-prone locations including Bardere, Jowhar, Beletweyne and Kismayo. It covers practical emergency skills such as boat handling, safety procedures and communications techniques used during rescue missions.
Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) has nine boats positioned across flood-prone areas as part of its preparations, according to the ICRC.
The preparations are under way as Somalia enters the October-to-December Deyr rainy season, when the country faces an elevated threat of major flooding.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in September that strengthening El Niño conditions could produce significantly above-normal rainfall across much of central and southern Somalia. In some areas, the likelihood of above-normal rainfall is as high as 90%, with the Juba and Shabelle river basins identified as particular areas of concern.
Somalia Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) authorities estimate that between 2.5 million and 3.5 million people may be exposed to flooding this season. Up to 1 million people could also be displaced from farming and grazing areas.
The SRCS and ICRC are working to deploy rescue teams in advance, before swollen rivers cut off access to communities at risk.
Comparable El Niño conditions produced extensive flooding in Somalia in 2023, when Somali Red Crescent boat teams helped rescue residents from submerged areas.
Those floods affected about 2.5 million people and displaced more than 1 million, while homes, farmland, roads and other infrastructure sustained damage across much of the country.
The latest warning comes as millions of Somalis are already coping with food insecurity linked to repeated droughts, conflict and displacement. The government and United Nations project that 5.4 million people will experience crisis-level hunger or worse between October and December, including 1.5 million people facing emergency levels.
Humanitarian agencies say heavy flooding could destroy crops and livestock, interrupt markets, contaminate water supplies and drive further displacement.
The Red Crescent’s training is designed to enable teams to launch rescues without delay if flooding occurs, especially in riverine communities where damaged or submerged roads and bridges can quickly block access.
