Decreasing highland rains lessen flood pressure

Rains in the Ethiopian highlands have lessened but not stopped over the last few days, humanitarian sources told IRIN. Monitoring systems in Ethiopia were “very limited”, making it difficult to monitor potential flash floods of the Shebelle in the Ogaden and southern Somalia, one source said. Apart from a couple of weather stations in the Bale area, satellite imagery is the only way to monitor the upper catchments of the Shebelle, which flows into southern Somalia. Aid workers in the Kelafo Ogaden region said water levels, which flooded some areas last week, were now receding - but warned that “another pulse of water” could cause serious problems locally and in southern Somalia. The UN is hoping to monitor rain from the Ethiopian highlands as part of its preventative action in flood-affected areas in southern Somalia.