(ERGO) – Halima Derow Mohamud fled her home on 23 November when flash floods caused by torrential rains hit her home in Dhobley town in southern Somalia’s Jubbaland state.
Her five-room house was awash with water. Halima carried some mattresses and salvaged some food as she and her family moved out of her home.
They stayed for two days with a relative in town but then had to move further to outside town after fresh floods inundated the relative’s house as well.
The mother of 11 – seven girls and three boys – told Radio Ergo that the floods destroyed $1,500 worth of goods in her small shop at her home in Bosnia suburb. They had to move to El-Dhig village, seven km away from the town.
Another mother, Sareda Salad Abdi, fled her shanty house in Dan-wadag camp after floods left most of the camp under water. She told Radio Ergo that all her belongings including foodstuff was swept away.
Sareda and her three daughters and two sons also moved to El-Dhig village.
“When we were deep asleep, we were woken up by moving water. Our little hut collapsed and all that we had was washed away,” she said. “We spent three nights in water with nowhere to go before we decided to move away.”
Ahmednur Abdi Mohamed, an official from Jubbaland state’s Refugee and IDP Affairs Committee, told Radio Ergo that the floods displaced 6,000 families in Dhobley. He confirmed that 47 houses and 1,800 toilets were destroyed.
Ahmednur and other officials visited Dhobley on 26 November to assess the damage. He said about 1,700 families had moved to El-Dhig, where they needed assistance.
“We did what could do to help these people, we also contacted the agencies and asked them to help,” he said.
The floods mostly affected Kowad, Danwadag, and Bosnia suburbs.
Dhoblay divisional officer, Siyad Mohamed Hassan, said most of those affected were IDPs living in camps.
“We did our best but that is minimal, so we contacted the federal and state authorities, and we also sought help from the aid agencies,” he said.
