Floods hit southern areas

Large areas of the Juba Valley in southern Somalia have been flooded, with thousand of hectares of farmland inundated by flood waters, according to sources in the affected region.

Businessman Abdinasir Abdullahi Haji from the town of Afmadow, 620 km southwest of Mogadishu, told IRIN the floods had destroyed farms and properties in the Lower Juba and Middle Juba regions. "In October we had two weeks of non-stop rain," he added.

He said the Deyr rains (September -December) started early this year, cutting off all roads and severing business activity between the town and Kismayo and Mogadishu. "Prices of essential goods have quadrupled," he said.

However, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said the situation did not appear grave. “There is flooding, but at this point it is only flash floods,” said a report by the FAO's Somalia Water and Land Information Management System.

It said that due to consistent rains the deshek (huge depressions) and depressions along the rivers had become inundated and began to merge. The report acknowledged that this could cut off villages and settlements.

But, it said, the current levels of the Juba river did not warrant flood warnings at this time.

"As of now the situation is manageable but if the rains continue as predicted, then we are looking at serious humanitarian situation developing," it warned.

The most affected areas are around Buale in the Middle Juba region, and Hagar and Afmadow in the Lower Juba region.