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Puntland,
Somaliland reel from post-cyclone rains, flooding
‘The
rain is accompanied by an extreme cold, wind, and a lot of water,
which have killed the people and the animals’
17
November, 2013
GAROWE,
Somalia, 16 November 2013 (Garowe Online) – The survivors of a
severe cyclonic storm that rammed into Somalia's northeastern region
of Puntland are desperate for food, medicines and clean water but,
with so much anxiety and chaos in the hardest-hit areas the
distribution is limited, Garowe Online reports.
Despite
the efforts of Puntland government, few aid agencies on the ground
and the neighbouring countries of Ethiopia and Djibouti, food remains
scarce for many of the neediest survivors in Nugal region where storm
with life-threatening flooding washed thousands of livestock into the
Indian Ocean, leaving 350,000 households more destitute according to
local authorities.
Three
days after the devastating cyclone, the survivors can recall terrible
experiences on the deadly storm, with some of them telling harrowing
tales of immense disaster while hundreds of nomads completely lost
their livelihood during the flooding.
Wading
through the submerged earth road linking Nugal regional district of
Dangorayo to the coastal town of Eyl and former pirate hub, 155 km
east of Garowe, Garowe Online was able to interview some victims.
"We
were witnessing surging waters and icy winds. … I lost 435 goats
and sheep, I wish to thank almighty Allah for giving me that farm
animals yesterday and for making me poor today," Aidarus Jama
Isse, 50, a father of six said Saturday.
"We
need food, medicines and water. Be kind and help us at this time,"
he added.
In
Qarhis village, at the heart of Nugal valley hundreds are suffering
and waiting for help "I had survived on little water and dates
since the storm … my neighbors were all killed by the storm and I
need immediate assistance," Asha, a concerned resident of Qarhis
told Garowe Online.
The
survivors sheltered under makeshift evacuation centres are worrying
about their future after the storm left them homeless and extremely
anxious because they had been relying on their goats and sheep as a
source of income. […]
Severe
storms and heavy rains that started last week have caused widespread
flooding across a wide swath of Puntland state which forms the tip of
horn of Africa. [more]
By
Barkhad Dahir in Hargeisa and Abdi Moalim in Mogadishu
15
November 2013
(Sabahi
Online) – Heavy rains trailing a cyclone, which battered Somalia's
Puntland region and left as many as 300 people dead, have also
flooded parts of the Somaliland region and done much damage to the
port city of Berbera.
In
Puntland as of Wednesday (November 13th), the human death toll from
the cyclone was confirmed at 143, State Minister for Good Governance
Mohamed Farah Isse told Sabahi. The local government said 300 were
feared dead and hundreds of others missing.
As
many as 100,000 animals -- mostly goats -- perished in the storm,
Isse said.
"The
rain is accompanied by an extreme cold, wind and a lot of water,
which have killed the people and the animals," he said. "We
cannot reach the affected areas because the vehicles are becoming
stuck in the mud. We provided a small amount of aid to the district
of Dangorayo, however, we cannot reach Eyl and Bandarbeyla."
The
Puntland cabinet has appointed an inter-agency committee -- made up
of the region's interior affairs, health and planning ministries, as
well as its disaster response agency -- to manage the humanitarian
response to the cyclone's fallout, Isse said.
District
Commissioner of Garmal Gurey Salad Qayad said the cyclone had killed
25 people in his village alone, located 80 kilometres east of
Dangorayo in Puntland's Nugaal region.
"The
dead people include a mother and six of her children, while only the
father and his niece survived in that family," Qayad told
Sabahi, adding that the village had become an island surrounded by
water on all sides.
People
living in the areas of Puntland battered by the cyclone also
expressed fear that many others could die from the threat of an
outbreak of disease.
In
Puntland's Karkaar region, there are many injured and sick people who
urgently need medical care, said Ahmed Mohamud Hassan, head of
medicine in Kulule village. The little food left in the village was
running out, he said.
"Here
in the village there are 1,000 people stranded whose animals have
been killed and who do not have food," he told Sabahi.
Hassan
said he was grateful to the federal government for its $1 million
pledge for post-cyclone relief, but he called on officials to
expedite the aid.
"If
the aid is delayed, it will not do us any good," he said.
Somaliland's
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Bihi Yonis and its Minister of
Interior Affairs Ali Mohamed Waranadde said Tuesday (November 12th)
that the region would also participate in the humanitarian relief
efforts for the victims of the cyclone in Puntland.
The
cyclone weakened by the time it reached the Somaliland region, but
the heavy rains it produced "have caused damage through the
extreme cold accompanying them and the extensive flooding that has
resulted," said Mohamed Muse Awale, chairman of Somaliland's
National Environment Research and Disaster Preparedness and
Management Authority.
The
rains in Hargeisa lasted for about 48 hours and were accompanied by
heavy cloud cover and fog that prevented flights from landing at the
local airport on Tuesday.
The
rains, nonetheless, hit the port city of Berbera hard enough to
damage buildings and displace 500 families, according to officials.
At least ten people, who were injured in the rains and flooding, were
taken to a local hospital.
In
Togdheer region, two people died as a result of the rains, Waranadde
said Wednesday in an interview with Voice of America's Somali
language service.
"Thanks
to God, there are no deaths [in Berbera], but there is extensive
damage," Berbera Mayor Abdishakur Mahmoud Hassan said at news
conference Wednesday alongside Sahil Governor Ali Mohamed Elmi.
"The
city was flooded with a lot of water and about 50 of the old houses
collapsed," Hassan said, adding that the displaced people had
been given shelter at schools in the city.
"The
greatest [need] is something for them to eat and somewhere to
shelter," Elmi said. "We are calling on the government and
aid agencies to extend emergency assistance to them."
Among
the city's uprooted residents was Asha Jama, a mother of five.
"My
children and I were without shelter for two nights. I am worried the
cold will harm [the children]," said Jama, who was sheltering
with her family at Bursade High School. [more]
