Malaria and malnutrition stalk central Somalia as more families flee floods

Weeks of heavy rain in Somalia spark fears of malaria and malnutrition as more than a quarter of a million people displaced in a few days.

Thousands of more families are at risk of being displaced as heavy rains continue to pummel many parts of Somalia, with bad weather forecast to last throughout much of November, Islamic Relief has warned.

The rains, caused by heavy than usual seasonal Deyer rains that fall in the last few months of the year, have already spread devastation throughout much of central Somalia, sparking deadly flash floods, submerging whole neighbourhoods and destroying vital infrastructure.

With the floodwaters slow to recede, diseases like malaria and diarrhoea are already on the rise.

Since the heavy rain started, more than 270,000 people from Beledweyne in central Somalia have been displaced.

Islamic Relief was one of the first few first organisations to reach those affected.

“The situation is dire and only getting worse. The water level is so high right now that one cannot tell the difference between the river and the land anymore,” said Ibrahim Abdi, Islamic Relief’s Emergency project officer in Somalia.

Islamic Relief is working hard to stop the spread of diseases by providing clean water and adequate sanitation to thousands of those who have been displaced.

Original source: Islamic Relief
Published on 13 November 2019