The rapid Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report prepared and released today by the Government, in collaboration with the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union, reveals that the 2023 Deyr floods caused US$176 million in losses and damages across sixteen districts. The floods resulted in 188 fatalities and displaced over 2 million people.

According to the report, direct damages to agriculture, water and sanitation, education and other key sectors surpassed US$126.6 million, while losses amounted to US$49.5 million. The agriculture and livestock sector requires the highest recovery investments, followed by Transport and Housing.

“The recent floods left significant destruction of property and loss of lives in Somalia, affecting millions of lives, and increasing vulnerabilities of an already vulnerable population. As we navigate the path to recovery, our collective efforts must prioritize resilience, inclusivity, and sustainable solutions towards disaster management in the country. Together with our partners, we are committed to building back better, ensuring that no one is left behind,” said Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmad Jama addressing the formal report launch ceremony in Mogadishu.

““The R-PDNA was a joint, collaborative and coordinated effort between the Government of Somalia, the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank. The Somali Government together with all stakeholders will continue their efforts and provide detailed plans addressing the recovery needs, aiming to strengthen the resilience of communities against future floods. The EU will remain a consistent and solid partner in supporting recovery and economic growth,” said EU Ambassador, Karin Johansson.

The assessment reveals escalating food insecurity, with an additional 304,980 people facing various levels of food stress and crisis. The cascading impact of floods has worsened the situation for 1.5 million children under five, who are projected to experience severe malnutrition. Beletweyn, Dolow, Baardhere, Baydhaba, and Kismayo are among the most affected regions, making up almost 70% of total losses and damages.

Poverty levels are expected to deepen, particularly among the most vulnerable groups, including nomadic populations, rural communities, children, and female-headed households, as the floods hit the country while it was still grappling with the severe 2020-2023 drought. 

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mr. George Conway noted that the report will inform recovery efforts of all stakeholders in Somalia – “It is important that the results of the PDNA help us prioritise immediate interventions necessary to address the impact of the floods - restoring livelihoods, housing, water and sanitation services, as well as rebuilding key infrastructure such as bridges. The results of this PDNA should feed into other long-term national planning processes in order to link up immediate recovery needs with longer-term plans and investment priorities,”

The findings and recommendations from the report are expected to inform key players about the disaster's needs and encourage national and international response efforts to mobilize support for timely recovery.

“The World Bank supported flood response collectively puts government in the driver’s seat to coordinate and oversee the emergency response, such as by providing $80m financing from the Bank’s Crisis Response Window (CRW) to provide Emergency Cash Transfers (ECT) to 215,000 households,” said Kristina Svensson, World Bank Country Manager for Somalia. “We are also supporting longer-term disaster preparedness by investing in flood risk management infrastructure, strengthening hydromet services and emergency response capacities, and helping to diversify disaster risk financing.”

The report benefited from financial and technical support of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) of the World Bank. Technical and financial support has also been provided by the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP)-EU partnership under the Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance and Recovery Capacities project implemented by UNDP and the EU Foreign Policy Instrument which supports the tri-partite cooperation on crisis assessments.