Droughts, famines and displacement
Floods in Somalia, 2007 to 2024: every flood on the UN record
The Shabelle and Juba rivers flood often, and Beledweyne is flooded more than any other town. The UN record (ReliefWeb) lists Somali floods in almost every year from 2007 to 2024. The largest before 2023 were the 2018 Gu floods (830,000 affected), the 2019 Deyr floods (547,000 affected, 370,000 displaced) and the 2020 Gu floods (919,000 affected, 412,000 displaced, 24 dead).
In short
Somalia has two rivers, the Shabelle and the Juba. Both rise in the Ethiopian highlands, so rain there can flood Somalia even when it is dry locally (ReliefWeb, Somalia floods, October 2019; FAO, 18 October 2019). Flash floods also hit towns and the camps of displaced people, where shelters stand on low ground (ReliefWeb, Somalia flash floods, April 2018; OCHA, 2018).
Each entry below comes from the ReliefWeb record for that event, which gathers dated UN, Red Cross and NGO reports. The largest flood on record, in late 2023, has its own page: the 2023 Deyr floods. The rainy seasons are explained on rain, drought and floods in Somalia.
Year by year
| Season | Main areas | Affected | Displaced | Deaths | ReliefWeb record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug–Nov 2007 | Part of floods across 18 African countries | not given for Somalia | FL-2007-000161-UGA | ||
| Mar–Jun 2010 | Gebiley, Hiiraan, Juba, Shabelle, Puntland coast | about 3,000 households (May) | FL-2010-000041-SOM | ||
| Oct–Dec 2011 | Southern Somalia, Juba river | 1,000 households | FL-2011-000161-SOM | ||
| 27–28 Sep 2012 | Beledweyne | 20,000 | 25 | FL-2012-000173-SOM | |
| Apr 2013 | Wanlaweyn, Xudun, Dharoor valley, Cabudwaaq | thousands | thousands | FL-2013-000052-SOM | |
| Aug–Nov 2013 | Jowhar and Balcad | 7,000 to 11,000 households | FL-2013-000141-SOM | ||
| Oct 2014 | Beledweyne, Middle Shabelle, Dolow, Jilib, Jamaame | about 2,500 in Beledweyne | FL-2014-000150-SOM | ||
| Apr–May 2015 | Lower and Middle Shabelle, Galkacyo | 16,000 | FL-2015-000040-SOM | ||
| Oct–Dec 2015 | Bakool, Bay, Juba, Middle Shabelle | over 90,000 | about 42,000 | FL-2015-000145-SOM | |
| May–Jun 2016 | Beledweyne | 70,000 | over 70,000 | FL-2016-000046-SOM | |
| Apr–May 2018 | Hirshabelle, South West, Jubaland, Banadir | about 830,000 | nearly 290,000 | FF-2018-000041-SOM | |
| Oct–Dec 2019 | Beledweyne, Juba, Bay, Shabelle | 547,000 | 370,000 | at least 17 | FL-2019-000133-SOM |
| Apr–May 2020 | 29 districts, worst Beledweyne and Jowhar | about 919,000 | 412,000 | 24 | FF-2020-000055-SOM |
| Jun–Nov 2020 | Lower and Middle Shabelle, Banadir, Sanaag | over 555,000 | about 363,000 | FF-2020-000221-SOM | |
| May 2021 | Banadir, Jowhar, Doolow, Puntland | at least 166,000 | at least 25 | FL-2021-000051-SOM | |
| Mar 2023 | Baardheere, Luuq, Doolow, Bay | nearly 100,000 | 21 in Baardheere | FF-2023-000044-SOM | |
| Oct–Dec 2023 | About half of all districts | 2.48 million | over 1.2 million | 188 | the 2023 Deyr floods |
| Apr–May 2024 | Jubaland, Hirshabelle, South West, Somaliland | 225,759 | 38,727 | 9 | FL-2024-000055-SOM |
Blank cells mean the record gives no figure. Figures are the latest in each record; early counts were often lower.
Beledweyne
Beledweyne, on the Shabelle in Hiiraan, appears in more flood records than any other town.
- 2012. The Shabelle overflowed at night on 27–28 September, killing 25 people, displacing 20,000 and drowning over 5,000 livestock (OCHA, 8 October 2012).
- 2016. Over 70,000 people displaced, 36,000 of them to Ceel Jaale (OCHA, 7 June 2016).
- 2019. About 45,500 households (273,000 people) fled their homes in Beledweyne district (OCHA, 6 November 2019).
- 2020. The Shabelle burst its banks on 12 May and flooded 85% of the town and 25 villages. About 240,000 people were displaced between 12 and 18 May (OCHA, 19 May 2020).
- 2023. About 250,000 people, 90% of the town, were forced out (see the 2023 Deyr floods).
The big floods in detail
- 2018 Gu. Above-average April rains came after the 2017 drought. In Baidoa, half of more than 246,000 displaced people were at risk of flash floods. By mid-May about 830,000 people had been affected (OCHA, April and May 2018).
- 2019 Deyr. The rains flooded 207,000 hectares of land along the Shabelle and Juba. On 23 November the UN and government launched a three-month US$72.5 million flood response plan (OCHA, 5 December 2019).
- 2020. Floods came in both seasons, during COVID-19 and the desert locust upsurge (OCHA, 24 April and 22 November 2020).
- 2021. Nine children died when their house flooded in Banadir on 7 May. Drought had been declared on 25 April, so OCHA called it "a double climate disaster" (OCHA, 9 and 17 May 2021).
- 2024 Gu. Floods destroyed 3,367 shelters, 5,002 latrines, 29 water points and 7 schools by mid-May (OCHA, 19 May 2024).
Sources
All from ReliefWeb (UN OCHA), each record quoting dated reports from OCHA, FAO SWALIM, ECHO, ACAPS, IFRC and UNHCR PRMN:
- East Africa: Floods – Aug 2007
- Somalia: Floods – Mar 2010
- Somalia: Floods – Oct 2011
- Somalia: Floods – Sep 2012
- Somalia: Floods – Apr 2013 and Nov 2013
- Somalia: Floods – Oct 2014
- Somalia: Floods – Apr 2015 and Oct 2015
- Somalia: Floods – May 2016
- Somalia: Flash Floods – Apr 2018
- Somalia: Floods – Oct 2019
- Somalia: Flash Floods – Apr 2020 and Oct 2020
- Somalia: Floods – May 2021
- Somalia: Floods – Mar 2023
- Somalia: Floods – Apr 2024
Sources
- ReliefWeb, Somalia floods, October 2019 · reliefweb.int
- ReliefWeb, Somalia flash floods, April 2018 · reliefweb.int
- FL-2007-000161-UGA · reliefweb.int
- FL-2010-000041-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2011-000161-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2012-000173-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2013-000052-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2013-000141-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2014-000150-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2015-000040-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2015-000145-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2016-000046-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FF-2020-000055-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FF-2020-000221-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2021-000051-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FF-2023-000044-SOM · reliefweb.int
- FL-2024-000055-SOM · reliefweb.int
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
- Gaalkacyo (Galkayo) and MudugMudug is a region of central Somalia with about 1.5 million people, split between Puntland in the north and Galmudug in the south.
- Dhuusamarreeb (Dhusamareb) and GalgaduudGalgaduud is a region of central Somalia in Galmudug State, with Dhusamareb (Dhuusamarreeb) as its capital and about 845,000 people.
- Jowhar (Johar) and Middle ShabelleMiddle Shabelle is the farming region along the Shabelle river north of Mogadishu, with Jowhar as its capital and about 1 to 1.26 million people.
- Marka (Merca) and Lower ShabelleLower Shabelle is Somalia's biggest farming region, along the Shabelle river south-west of Mogadishu, with Marka (Merca) as its capital and about 835,000 to…
- Baydhabo (Baidoa) and BayBay is a farming region in South West State, with Baidoa (Baydhabo) as its main city and about 1.25 to 1.8 million people.
- Garbahaarrey (Garbaharey) and GedoGedo is the south-western region on the borders with Kenya and Ethiopia, with Garbahaarrey as its capital and about 1 million people.
- Bu'aale (Buale) and Middle JubaMiddle Juba is a farming region on the Juba river in the south, with about 447,000 people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Disasters in Somalia: a list from 1974 to 2026A list of every recorded disaster in Somalia from the 1974 drought to the 2026 dengue outbreak, year by year, with deaths and people affected and a link to the full page or UN record.
- Famines and droughts in Somalia: a timeline and the Somali names for themA timeline of droughts and famines in Somalia from 1913 to 2023, with the Somali names given to each, deaths where estimated, and links to the full pages.
- Rain, drought and floods in Somalia: the Gu and Deyr seasons and the great droughtsSomalia's rainy seasons (Gu and Deyr), the great droughts from 1974 to today, the death tolls, the 2023 floods, and what changed after the 2011 famine.
- The Somalia famine of 2010 to 2012: what happened and how many diedThe 2010 to 2012 famine in southern Somalia: the drought, the famine declarations region by region, the blocked aid, the death toll by region, the refugees and how it ended.
- The Somalia famine of 1991 to 1993 (Caga Barar): causes, deaths and reliefThe 1991 to 1993 famine in southern Somalia: how war and drought caused it, Baidoa and the camps, the death toll, the Red Cross and UN response, and how it ended.
- The Somalia drought of 2016 to 2018: famine warned, famine avertedThe 2016 to 2018 drought in Somalia: the poor rains, the national disaster, cholera and displacement, the cash response, the death toll and why famine was not declared.