SOMALIA

Ready for the flood
Khadijo Amburre Nurre cooks meals for her five
children outside her patched-up makeshift tent
pitched in a crowded backstreet of Mogadishu.
Her family was among thousands forced to flee their
homes when heavy rains hit south central Somalia,
destroying homes and property and causing flash
flooding and rivers to overflow their banks.
“We lost everything,” says Khadijo, sadly
remembering their home in Jambalul, Lower
Shabelle region. “We don’t have food or clean
drinking water and this tent is very cold at night. We
are in desperate situation.”
The rains, which were particularly heavy in October
and November, were associated with the predicted
El Niño phenomenon, which re-occurs every seven
to eight years and can have dramatic effects on the
weather around the world.
This time, the El Niño rains were predicted early
and UNICEF and its partners were able to prepare
in advance for its possible effects, particularly for
vulnerable people such as the displaced, women
and children.
“We are working on the assumption that between
500,000 and 1 million people could be affected,”
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