In brief
- Puntland Post reported on 29 April 2020 that buildings on Qardho's watercourse split rainfloods and pushed water into other neighbourhoods.
- The same report faults the local government for failing to prevent planning permits for an area it describes as a natural seasonal watercourse.
- The claim is reporting and commentary, not an engineering audit, so flood levels, flow paths and channel capacity still need survey and municipal records.
Contents
Puntland Post reported on 29 April 2020 that development inside a watercourse in Qardho diverted seasonal flood flows, with one part of the floods reaching a neighbourhood close to the channel and another damaging buildings raised on what the report calls the district watercourse.
What the source records
Puntland Post, in its 29 April 2020 report, describes Qardho as sitting between two watercourses, with a bridge spanning the watercourse between the Qardho and Garowe districts and a second watercourse running through the town toward Bosaso, where the report says a concrete channel, known locally as buundo jiif, carries rainfloods. The report states that houses, schools, parks, business premises and the market built on the watercourse force rainfloods to bifurcate into two parts of the district, and that some businesses built an annex along the channel. It faults the local government for failing to prevent planning permits in an area the report describes as a natural watercourse for seasonal rain water, and cites low rainfall for the last ten years as a second factor. Read the full account in Puntland Post.
What it means on site
For anyone building, designing drainage or buying a plot, the useful mechanism in the report is blockage and bifurcation: when structures occupy a channel, water that would have stayed in one bed is pushed sideways into streets and plots that were not built for it. Two checks follow. Ask the municipal engineer's office whether the plot lies inside a mapped watercourse or flood channel, and ask for any drainage or flood study it holds. Ask a surveyor to walk the channel line on the ground after heavy rain and record where water actually stands and flows.
What the source does not establish
The report is attributed local reporting and commentary, so its planning allegations are not an engineering audit. It gives no flood levels, flow rates, channel dimensions or survey data, and no municipal response appears in the text. The 29 April 2020 date is the as-of date; the piece describes the situation at that time and does not establish the current condition of the channel or which structures stand there today. It also does not assign liability beyond the allegation it puts to the local government. A hydrological study, the municipal permit register and the district physical plan would show the present state.
What to do next
Request the Qardho district physical plan and the permit register for the watercourse area from the municipal office, and ask the municipal engineer whether a flood or drainage study exists. Commission a survey of the channel line before buying or building near it.
Frequently asked questions
Did Puntland Post confirm that buildings caused the Qardho floods?
No. The report attributes diverted flood flows to development within the watercourse and faults the local government over permits, but it is commentary rather than an engineering study, so causation is not established.
How can a buyer check whether a Qardho plot lies in a watercourse?
Ask the municipal engineer's office for the drainage map and physical plan, and have a surveyor trace the channel line on the ground before committing to a purchase.
Sources
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Qardho and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.