Tragedy struck pastoralist Ahmed Hamud Diriye’s family in a remote hilly part of Somaliland’s Sahil region when torrential rains in April caused fast-flowing floods that drowned his three daughters.
Ahmed, whose family lives in Hadid-dallay, lost his daughters aged 21, 10 and 2 years on 18 April.
He had travelled to Burao hoping to sell off some of his livestock to pay medical fees for his wife when he was called with the news. He travelled back immediately and sadly had to go to retrieve the bodies of his children in the nearby valley.
“When we retrieved the three bodies and brought them together, I looked at them and held them in my arms and my emotions were running high. I was patient although it was so difficult,” he told Radio Ergo.
Ahmed’s eldest son, age 12, was rescued from the fast-flowing flood waters.
Flood water had gushed down from higher ground in the hilly area where they live, destroying much in its way including people and property. Most of the families have now evacuated from this area but are staying without proper shelter as the rain continues.
In the deluge, Ahmed’s house and his herd of 180 goats were also washed away. They moved to higher ground in Hadid-dalley.
His sick wife has been in hospital in Hargeisa for the past six months. Now Ahmed, 47, is left with his four children who survived the ordeal. They are relying on whatever food and help local people can give them.
“The people have helped us, some have got us food and others have got us shelter and clothing. They have been helpful. They came out to help us,” Ahmed said appreciatively.
“We live according to our fate, that’s all we can say. We haven’t received any aid from the government and we’re just staying nearby to where we lived.”
Meanwhile, Mohamed Hassan Abdi, 26, who lives in Bali-Igal in Daadmareen, Togdher region, was also hit by recent rainfall and flooding. He lost 15 goats and is trying hard to save the 31 goats that survived a storm that destroyed the hut that had housed his family for years.
He moved his wife and two children to his relatives’ house where they were safe from the floods and able to get food.
“We thank God since we have not lost a family member, but we have been struck by hard times. We are faced with food shortage and our remaining livestock are weak. Our house has been destroyed and the food has been washed away, so things are very challenging,” he said.
He had been planning to enroll his children in a local school but all his plans are shattered. His biggest fear was losing the rest of his livestock in the cold and rain.
“We need the Somaliland government to help us, we welcome aid and support and we thank them,”
Hussein Mohamed Yusuf, who works in the weather forecasting department at the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), talked to Radio Ergo giving advice on how people can stay safe in this season of heavy rain and floods.
“It is important for people to prepare and move away from low lying areas to higher ground. They need to understand these areas have not had rainfall for a long time. Heavy rainfall leads to flooding and houses in low lying areas are vulnerable to being washed away,” he said.
