MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s disaster management agency is working with the country’s fishermen to strengthen preparations for potential flooding as forecasts point to a heightened risk from a developing El Niño weather pattern.
Mahamuud Moallim Abdulle, commissioner of the Somali Disaster Management Agency, met with Hassan Mohamed Roble, chairman of the National Fishermen’s Cooperative, and other cooperative officials to discuss preparations, public awareness and community response measures.
The meeting focused in particular on communities in riverine and coastal areas, where flooding could pose significant risks to lives and livelihoods.
The fishermen’s cooperative agreed to support disaster-preparedness efforts, including public awareness campaigns, training and assistance to communities involved in flood prevention and emergency response.
Abdulle said SoDMA had deployed boats to flood-prone areas that could be used for emergency response and evacuations. He urged the cooperative to help train and support personnel operating the boats to strengthen the country’s rescue capacity.
Somalia is stepping up preparations ahead of the October-December rainy season as forecasts indicate a strong El Niño could increase the risk of flooding. Recent assessments have warned that riverine and low-lying areas along the Juba and Shabelle rivers could face significant flooding.
The risk has prompted Somali authorities and humanitarian agencies to emphasize early action and preparednessrather than waiting for flooding to occur. SoDMA has also been expanding public-awareness and early-warning efforts ahead of the expected rains.
The preparations are partly informed by the scale of the 2023 floods, when El Niño-related flooding displaced about 1.2 million people and damaged thousands of hectares of farmland, according to humanitarian assessments.
SoDMA said cooperation with the fishermen’s association would help extend preparedness efforts to coastal and riverine communities and strengthen the ability of local responders to evacuate people if flooding occurs.
