Situation overview
In April, floods claimed the lives of seven children and displaced over 50,000 in Somalia. Intense Gu rains coupled with deteriorated river embankments exacerbated the flooding leading to displacements in the lower reaches of the Juba and Shabelle rivers. The worst affected areas were Jowhar and Kurtunwarey districts in Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle respectively. Heavy rains also resulted in flash floods in Baidoa district in Bay and Qansax Dheere and Bardhera districts in Gedo. Humanitarian partners have been supporting the flood affected communities with several activities including pumping water from flooded areas, provision of non food items, water purification and rebuilding river banks to allow people to return to their homes.
Somali refugees from Ethiopia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Kenya continued to return to various locations in Somalia. According to the population movement tracking system by UNHCR, about 18,000 refugees have returned from neighbouring countries into Somalia since January 2013. Majority of the refugees have returned from Kenya.
