MOGADISHU, Somalia (PAMACC News) – The United Nations envoy to Somalia today voiced his concern over the flooding affecting thousands of people mainly in the southern parts of the country, and highlighted the world body’s willingness to support efforts to provide aid to those affected.
“I am saddened by the heavy toll that the floods are taking on the people of Somalia, and deeply concerned about the situation of people who have lost homes and livelihoods,” said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to all injured and affected by the flooding,” he added. “The United Nations stands ready to work with Somalia’s federal and regional authorities to support affected communities.”
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and casualties have been reported. Farmland, infrastructure and roads have been destroyed, and livelihoods disrupted in some of the worst-hit areas.
Heavy seasonal rains triggered floods along the Juba and Shabelle rivers in Hirshabelle, Jubaland and South West states. Flash flooding was also reported in Benadir region, Jowhar in Hirshabelle, and Ceel Cade and Jamame in Jubaland.
“I want to thank the Government of Somalia for demonstrating leadership by setting up an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate flood response with state authorities,” the UN envoy said.
“The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and its humanitarian partners are working with the authorities to quickly deliver live-saving assistance to affected people,” Mr. Swan added. “The World Food Programme is deploying a helicopter dedicated to support humanitarian response efforts in Belet Weyne and other affected locations. I’m grateful to the UN Support Office in Somalia for the temporary use of helicopters to assist in carrying out search-and-rescue operations despite pressing operational demands.”
BAFOUSAM, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Heavy and persistent week long rains triggered deadly landslide on Tuesday 29 October in Bafoussam, West of Cameroon, killing over 50 persons.
Many more are believed to be still buried in the mud as search for more corpses continue, state authorities announced shortly after the sad incident.
"We can now confirm that over 50 lives have been lost in the incident and close to fifteen houses have been buried in mud," said Cameroon minister of territorial administration,Paul AtangaNji in a press briefing after visiting the site yesterday.
The minister said 80% of those killed are children between 6-15 years and women.
The landslide, which occurred at around 10.30 pm after over a week-long of heavy rains, caught the rural population in their sleep,said the governor of the West region, Away Gonna Augustine.
Major recovery efforts are ongoing in the area,government has announced.
Military and the local population say they are using shovel and local tool in their search .
"We fear using complex machines might hurt someone who could have been saved," said a military officer on the site.
Residents who survived the accident said they heard a loud noise while asleep and quickly rushed out
" I heard a loud bang and jumped out of bed only to discover part of the house has been covered with mud and two of my children trapped under. The rescue team that came in hours later managed to rescue the," said Divine Ngambou, survivor of the landslide.
The minister of territorial administration and that of urban development have issued orders for the population living on the flanks of the hilly area to evacuate.
Rains have been very heavy in most parts of Cameroon in the past few months causing flooding and destroying property,environment experts say.
"These prolonged rains are clear signs of climate change. This was not the case in the past.". said Epie Joseph head of meteorology in the ministry of environment..
Floods and landslides he said are triggered by climate abnormality.
Cameroon President Paul Biya has ordered for immediate financial assistance to be provided to the victims,while receiving treatment in the hospitals are getting it for free.
BAFOUSAM, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - Heavy and persistent week long rains triggered deadly landslide on Tuesday 29 October in Bafoussam, West of Cameroon, killing over 50 persons.
Many more are believed to be still buried in the mud as search for more corpses continue, state authorities announced shortly after the sad incident.
"We can now confirm that over 50 lives have been lost in the incident and close to fifteen houses have been buried in mud," said Cameroon minister of territorial administration,Paul AtangaNji in a press briefing after visiting the site yesterday.
The minister said 80% of those killed are children between 6-15 years and women.
The landslide, which occurred at around 10.30 pm after over a week-long of heavy rains, caught the rural population in their sleep,said the governor of the West region, Away Gonna Augustine.
Major recovery efforts are ongoing in the area,government has announced.
Military and the local population say they are using shovel and local tool in their search .
"We fear using complex machines might hurt someone who could have been saved," said a military officer on the site.
Residents who survived the accident said they heard a loud noise while asleep and quickly rushed out
" I heard a loud bang and jumped out of bed only to discover part of the house has been covered with mud and two of my children trapped under. The rescue team that came in hours later managed to rescue the," said Divine Ngambou, survivor of the landslide.
The minister of territorial administration and that of urban development have issued orders for the population living on the flanks of the hilly area to evacuate.
Rains have been very heavy in most parts of Cameroon in the past few months causing flooding and destroying property,environment experts say.
"These prolonged rains are clear signs of climate change. This was not the case in the past.". said Epie Joseph head of meteorology in the ministry of environment..
Floods and landslides he said are triggered by climate abnormality.
Cameroon President Paul Biya has ordered for immediate financial assistance to be provided to the victims,while receiving treatment in the hospitals are getting it for free.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (PAMACC News) - Scientists are struggling to figure out the level of environmental pressure facing the Tana river basin due to lack of reliable data.
And such data bankruptcy is affecting hydroelectric power generation in Kenya, Willis Ochieng’, the energy and chief planner at the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KENGEN), said during the ongoing African Climate Risks meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
According to Ochieng’, most of the data about the Tana river basin is either untimely or unreliable. For instance, he said, this year’s flood forecasting which can help plan how to avoid water spillage has not been done.
“We use the forecasts for planning and operation to ensure water use is sustainable. The seasonal forecasts helps us in managing the dams. This way we are able to project the amount of energy we can generate during a particular season,” said Ochieng’.
For instance, in April 2018, the abrupt heavy rains resulted in water rising to a level of around 1.7 meters in the dams within 24 hours. Such a surge can affect the hydro power plant because it is the only unit that can manage system fluctuations.
“That was too much than what our machines could take. Luckily we had alerts from Kenya Meteorological Department warning there would be heavy rains. We used the forecasts to adjust to the situation. In the absence of this information we would only have waited to see what is happening,” said Ochieng’.
Zachary Atheru, programme officer at the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC) acknowledged that Kenya, and other African countries are facing a weather data crisis.
This is because most hydrological stations installed in the region, including in the Tana river basin, have flunked.
Also, said Atheru, most countries that have installed automatic weather stations are not reporting the data collected through them.
“In the IGAD region hydrological data is considered as a security asset. For security reasons, most water agencies do not share this data,” said Atheru, adding that the global framework for climate services requires countries to collect and share as much weather data as possible.
Ali Ramtu, the senior acting director in charge of aeronautical and meteorological services at the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) acknowledged that most weather observation stations, including those in the Tana river basin, have closed down.
He accused the government of neglecting investment in weather forecasting, adding that the sector does not receive funding from the government.
“We used to have a lot of observational stations but they have died because most of them were on voluntary. Even if we get any funding from donors we are not supposed to use it at the county level but submit it to the Treasury. In most cases it does not come back to us,” said Ramtu.
Masinga dam which is the upper reservoir in the Tana river basin has a capacity of 1.56 billion cubic meters, while Kiambere dam in the lower reservoir can store about 585 milion cubic meters of water.
“KENGEN may not reach everywhere. We may not just go everywhere for the purpose of data collection. This is why we need partnerships with other institutions,” said Ochieng’.
