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Cyclone Gati, the strongest storm to hit Somalia, has dumped two years of rain in two days
By Mohammed Omer
GAROWE, Somalia, Nov. 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Electronics store owner Mohamed Nor ran a thriving television and phone business in the Somali coastal town of Bosaso until three days ago, when the storm The most powerful that hit the country hit his business and he left with nothing.
“I had a booming store in downtown Bosaso. It flooded. I lost all my property worth more than $ 35,000,” Nor, 39, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.
“I lost my whole life like this. No one, no government, no charity has asked me for help. I am looking to God to help me. I don’t know what to do,” said the father of four. Cyclone Gati is the strongest storm to hit the Horn of Africa nation since satellite records began, bringing two years of rain in two days and winds of 170 kph (105 mph) in the Puntland region of the Northeast Somalia on Sunday.
The United Nations said eight people have died and 180,000 people have had their lives interrupted, with more than a dozen cities and towns inundated by the floods, destroying homes and businesses and submerging crops and pastures.
Impoverished Somalia is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, but receives little funding for climate adaptation, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The country of 15 million often suffers from prolonged droughts and flash floods, which threaten people’s livelihoods and exacerbate hunger amid the ongoing conflict between its Western-backed government and the militant Islamist group al Shabaab.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Wednesday that Gati had weakened and was expected to dissipate in the next few hours, but had left “a trail of physical and economic damage.”
Some 70,000 people, including fishermen, herders, farmers and traders, will need support to rebuild their livelihoods after the disaster, according to their latest bulletin.
Yusuf Abshir, who lives on the outskirts of Bosaso, said that more than 70% of his animals drowned in the floodwaters.
“I am frustrated now. I had 110 sheep and goats. Only 30 survived,” said Abshir, 42.
“We lost all of our source of income for the family because I used to milk them, bring the milk to Bosaso and return later in the day with cash and food such as rice, oil, sugar and flour.”
Northern Somalia typically receives about 4 inches (10 cm) of rain a year, but satellite images from NASA’s Earth Observatory said Gati brought in at least that amount in two days.
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(Report by Mohammed Omer, edited by Nita Bhalla and Katy Migiro. Please give credit to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers the lives of people around the world who are struggling to live freely or fair. Visit http: // news.trust.org)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
