# The Waaheen market fire in Hargeisa, 1 to 2 April 2022

> The April 2022 fire at Waaheen market, Hargeisa: how it spread, the shops, buildings and jobs lost, the loss estimates, and the government, Red Crescent, diaspora and foreign response.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/society/hargeisa-waaheen-market-fire-2022/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

Fire broke out in Waaheen, the biggest market in Hargeisa, on the evening of **1 April 2022**. [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/)'s fire service brought it under control about 16 hours later, at noon on 2 April, with help from the fire department of Ethiopia's Somali region. The fire service called it "the worst fire experienced in decades" ([ReliefWeb, Somalia: Urban Fire Incident – Apr 2022](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/fr-2022-000191-som); IFRC, 7 April 2022).

No one died, because the fire came after the market had closed. It was the first night of Ramadan ([Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/4/26/i-lost-everything-somaliland-market-fire-upturns-life-economy)).

## The damage

By 3 April the Somaliland Red Crescent Society ([SRCS](/en/institutions/somali-red-crescent-society/)) and the government estimated (IFRC, 7 April 2022):

| Measure | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Shops and stalls completely destroyed | almost 2,000 |
| Buildings destroyed | 100 |
| Buildings with extensive damage | about 50 |
| People rescued | 62 |
| People severely injured | 28 |
| People affected | over 12,000 |
| People who lost their livelihoods | about 10,000 |

Most houses near the market were made of iron sheets and tarpaulins, among some tall concrete buildings (IFRC, 7 April 2022).

## The cost

- **Mayor's estimate.** The mayor of Hargeisa, a member of the national response committee, put the loss at around US$1.5 to 2 billion (IFRC, 7 April 2022; [Africanews, 4 April 2022](https://www.africanews.com/2022/04/04/somaliland-market-fire-losses-between-1-5-billion-2-billion-preliminary-report/)).
- **Share of the economy.** Al Jazeera reported the authorities' estimate of US$2 billion, "or 60% of Somaliland's GDP". It said about 2,000 business owners were affected, and that the true number was higher because many traders were not registered (Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022).
- **Traders.** One unregistered trader told Al Jazeera: "I lost almost $2,000. I lost everything." Ayan Mahamoud, Somaliland's former representative in the UK, said: "It was more than a market, it was an entire financial district" (Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022).

## The response

- **Government.** Within two weeks the Somaliland government had identified almost 1,000 victims for compensation (Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022).
- **Red Crescent.** The SRCS and the IFRC ran a rapid assessment and asked for emergency funds (IFRC, 7 April 2022).
- **Taiwan** pledged US$500,000 (Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022).
- **United Kingdom.** Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote: "Your city will rise again and UK will do what we can to support Somaliland's rebuilding effort" (quoted by Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022).
- Al Jazeera reported that because Somaliland is not internationally recognised, foreign governments generally gave through NGOs rather than directly (Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022).

The fire came during [the 2020 to 2023 drought](/en/society/drought-2020-2023/). The UN estimated that the drought had affected over 800,000 people in Somaliland (Al Jazeera, 26 April 2022).

## Related pages

- [Woqooyi Galbeed](/en/regions/woqooyi-galbeed/)

## Sources

- ReliefWeb. [Somalia: Urban Fire Incident – Apr 2022](https://reliefweb.int/disaster/fr-2022-000191-som) (IFRC, 7 April 2022).
- Al Jazeera (2022). [Hargeisa: Huge fire destroys market in Somali breakaway region](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/2/somalia-huge-fire-destroys-hargeisa-market), 2 April 2022.
- Al Jazeera (2022). ['I lost everything': Somaliland market fire upturns life, economy](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/4/26/i-lost-everything-somaliland-market-fire-upturns-life-economy), 26 April 2022.
- Africanews (2022). [Somaliland market fire losses between 1.5 billion-$2 billion (preliminary report)](https://www.africanews.com/2022/04/04/somaliland-market-fire-losses-between-1-5-billion-2-billion-preliminary-report/), 4 April 2022.

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