Recent floods damage supply routes, vital infrastructure in Somalia, UN relief wing warns.
"There is need to urgently repair main
lifeline roads, bridges and airstrips. This will ensure supplies can reach the
markets to stabilize the escalating food prices and enable humanitarian
partners and aid supplies to reach those most in need of assistance,” stressed
the latest humanitarian update issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which warns that even as the rains have slowed,
the risk of flooding remains high.
Despite the worsening road situation, OCHA
and relief partners are ramping up efforts to reach people in the flood-hit
areas. For example, emergency relief and food such as high energy biscuits and
cooked meals are being delivered to those displaced in South Central Somalia.
Moreover, water-borne diseases, such as Acute
Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) and cholera, have spiked in more than 2/3 of the South
Central regions as a result of current rains and flash floods. Chlorine and
hygiene kits, as well as essential drugs are either already distributed or
being delivered to the outbreak-affected communities. Some water wells in
affected locations will also be chlorinated for disinfection, according to
OCHA.
"Disaster risk reduction therefore becomes an
important element in protecting against secondary hazards and supporting
durable solutions,” report also mentioned, while underscoring the significance
of avoiding longer-term disruption of life caused by shorter-term displacement
due to flooding or drought.
About 60,000 people have been internally displaced
in South Central Somalia due to floods since the beginning of the rainy season,
with Middle Shabelle accounting for the highest number, with more than 11,000
people displaced, mostly in Jowhar, Mahaday and Balcad districts.
Recent floods damage supply routes, vital infrastructure in Somalia, UN relief wing warns.
The floods caused by recent heavy rain falls in South Central Somalia have led to an interruption of humanitarian aid delivery, an escalation of local commodity prices, and an epidemic in water-borne diseases, the United Nations relief wing has warne