(ERGO) – Rahmo Hussein Dhubow, a single mother of five, is concerned for the well-being of her children after floods resulting from two weeks of rain in Jowhar, southern Somalia, destroyed their toilet and part of the wall of their house.
“The flood water is still in our house. The toilet and the sewers have mixed with the flood water. The water has turned green. This might cause a disease outbreak,” she said.
Rahmo runs a small restaurant in the market in the neighourhood of Hanti-wadaag, but people are stuck in their homes due to the floods blocking the roads.
“There is no business at all! I just go there to the restaurant because I have children to feed, though there are no customers. The situation is dire,” she told Radio Ergo.
Rahmo has kept her children at home because the Koranic school they attend is also under water. She said there are some elderly people trapped in flooded homes without any food.
A group of 11 volunteers from Hanti-wadaag have begun clearing the area using two rented generators to pump water into the Buri canal and back into the river.
The group’s deputy chairman, Mohamed Badow Mohamoud, estimated that 4,200 to 5,000 houses have been flooded. Businesses are also affected. The local livestock market, one of the biggest in the area, closed two weeks ago, putting a stop to the sales of cows, goats, camels and donkeys.
Mohamed said the local health centre was also flooded and closed, and entry routes into the neighbourhood were cut off by water.
He said they initiated the clean-up campaign as the authorities had not yet responded, although the plight of those affected was highlighted by the local media.
Two local businessmen living in Hanti-wadaag each rented one of generators being used by the volunteers and provided 400 litres of fuel to run them. A third generator has been promised to the group by the deputy regional commissioner. It costs a dollar an hour to rent each generator.
Mohamed urged others to help the flood-affected families in need of assistance.
“For us, the little we can do is clear the flood water. But there are families who need help,” he said.
