As the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that upcoming heavy El Niño rains could impact up to 3.4 million people across Somalia, the Federal Government has convened urgent high-level crisis response sessions to accelerate national preparedness and mitigation strategies.
According to OCHA’s latest projections, heavy rainfall forecast from October to December threatens 16 of the country’s 18 regions, posing severe flood risks in riverine and low-lying zones—particularly in Hiraan, Middle Juba, and Lower Juba. These potential conditions threaten to match or surpass the devastating benchmarks of the 1997 and 2023 climate emergencies, arriving while hundreds of health facilities remain closed or constrained due to critical funding gaps.
To confront this looming threat, the Minister of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation, H.E. Ali Yusuf Hosh, chaired a high-level emergency coordination meeting at the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA) headquarters. The session brought together key cabinet members, defense officials, the Banadir Regional Administration, religious leaders, and business representatives to strategize on immediate nationwide defense and relief measures.
Discussions centered on operationalizing early warning networks, clearing blocked waterways, reinforcing the National Disaster Risk Management Fund, and aligning federal and local resources to protect vulnerable communities before the Deyr rainy season intensifies.
