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Somalia

Somalia Initial Rapid Needs Assessment (SIRNA) Middle Shabelle | November 2015

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Background & Rationale

Deyr seasonal rains started in Middle Shabelle in October with flooding reported to have started by 22 October. The Middle Shabelle area was reported to be most affected by flash floods at the time of the assessment; however, riverine flooding was a growing concern due to the rising river levels from heavy regional rains and those in the Ethiopian highlands which flow into the nearby Shabelle River.

An estimated 4,899 households were reported to be affected by the recent river floods and approximately 5,406 households by flash floods. The majority of this population are small-scale farmers and livestock producers and traders. Ongoing breakages and overflow were reported in Tuugaareey, Magaay, Raqeyle, and Hawadley villages. Displacement to nearby communities was reported as a result of both flash flooding (ex. Mahaday) and river breakage (ex. Tuugaareey).

Health and WASH were the primary immediate concerns, as sanitation conditions had reportedly worsened from the existing deterioration of last Gu’s rains. Anecdotal evidence indicated an increasing number of diarrheal cases in communities downstream from dislodged latrines. Households were reportedly defecating at community defecation points in (ex.
Tuugaareey community in Jowhar) or river banks (ex. Kumis Weyne community in Mahaday), whereas IDP camps had private or shared pit latrines which may have experienced overflow.
Operational partners also highlighted that, aside from Tuugaareey which received soap, no hygiene-related distribution has been conducted.

Updated information remains limited and siloed, which has furthered the need for an inclusive assessment in the area. Response has been largely limited to responding to breakages – bag provision (WFP, Farjano Foundation, and PAH), and canal digging and river embankment (PAH). However, some preparedness training (PAH – hygiene promotors in Jowhar) and awareness messages (Farjano Foundation – radio messaging) have been reported.
Through expressed interest from the Inter-Cluster Coordinating Group (ICCG), upon a trigger request by the WASH Cluster, OCHA requested REACH to initiate a Somalia Initial Rapid Needs Assessment (SIRNA) for the Deyr 2015 related flood affected areas in Middle Shabelle,
Somalia.

Facilitated by REACH, and funded by European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the SIRNA was rolled out in 14 communities in the most affected area – Balcad,
Jowhar and Mahaday Town areas – between 9 and 12 November 2015.
The purpose of this assessment is to inform response within the communities most impacted by both types of floods – riverine and flash flooding. Secondary and key informant data may improve general understanding of the displacement, but it will not be a central feature of this assessment, unless relocation included a community which the assessment is targeting.

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