MOGADISHU (SD) – The floods cut off villages in Jowhar district, causing a humanitarian crisis for hundreds of people in the Middle Shabelle region.

The villages were wiped out after the bursting of the Shabelle River, causing further displacement in the areas.

The Hirshabelle administration’s Minister of Relief and Disaster Management, Abdimahad Abdullahi Qoorgaab, said more than 5,000 families did not have access to food and health services, with the only road to the region having been cut off, making humanitarian intervention difficult.

He added that planes can barely land at the regional airport and a small boat is needed to cross Jowhar.

“The cut flooding from all access points to the city. You cannot enter with a boat, the minister said. “The crops were flooded just before the harvest and their livestock were also killed in the floods. The

United Nations Food Agency on Saturday said hundreds of people were displaced and large farmland with newly sown crops were destroyed after a Shabelle River broke its banks in Baarey and Moyko villages near Jowhar town.

FAO has warned of rising water levels along the Juba and Shabelle rivers, both in Somalia, following strong rains in Ethiopia in the previous weeks.

The warning by the agency came barely a week after 15 people including children were killed by floods following torrential rains in Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The UN agency warned that the ongoing Gu (rainy season)’s flooding will exacerbate the humanitarian situation, joining the COVID-19 pandemic and locust infestation to form a “Triple Threat”.

It said disruptions to transport due to damaged roads and COVID-19 restrictions have pushed food prices up in some affected areas.