# UN urges repair of flood-hit Somali lifelines

> A 23 Nov 2015 OCHA update calls for urgent repair of main lifeline roads, bridges and airstrips after South Central Somalia floods.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 1 October 2026
- Format: News story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: Infrastructure and Services
- Tags: roads, drainage, flash-floods
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/un-urges-repair-somali-lifelines

## Key points

- On 23 November 2015, Wardheer News reported OCHA's call for urgent repair of main lifeline roads, bridges and airstrips after floods in South Central Somalia.
- The report provides no specific assets, costs, contractors, or confirmation that any repair work was funded or carried out.
- It does not establish what has happened since that date.

Wardheer News reported on 23 November 2015 that recent heavy rainfall in South Central Somalia had caused floods that disrupted humanitarian aid delivery, escalated local commodity prices, and triggered a water-borne disease epidemic.

According to the OCHA update quoted by Wardheer News, the floods affected people in low-lying areas as water levels rose in the Shabelle and Juba rivers. The update called for urgent repair of main lifeline roads, bridges and airstrips, stating that such repairs "will ensure supplies can reach the markets to stabilize the escalating food prices and enable humanitarian partners and aid supplies to reach those most in need of assistance."

The report does not identify any specific road, bridge, or airstrip damaged, nor does it give a cost estimate, scope, tender, contractor, or executing agency for the repairs. It also does not state that any repair work had been carried out or funded at the time of publication.

Even as rains slowed, the risk of flooding remained high, according to the OCHA update as reported by Wardheer News. Despite the worsening road situation, OCHA and relief partners were ramping up efforts to reach flood-hit areas.

Emergency relief and food, including high energy biscuits and cooked meals, were being delivered to displaced people in South Central Somalia. Water-borne diseases such as Acute Watery Diarrhoea and cholera had spiked in more than two thirds of South Central regions as a result of the rains and flash floods, the report said.

Chlorine and hygiene kits, as well as essential drugs, were either already distributed or being delivered to outbreak-affected communities, according to OCHA. Some water wells in affected locations were to be chlorinated for disinfection, though the number of wells was not specified.

Approximately 60,000 people had been internally displaced in South Central Somalia due to floods since the beginning of the rainy season, with Middle Shabelle accounting for the highest number at over 11,000 displaced, mostly in Jowhar, Mahaday and Balcad districts, the OCHA update said.

The report, based on a humanitarian update issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, does not provide a date or reference number for that update. It also does not establish what has happened in Somalia since 23 November 2015.

## Questions

### Which regions and specific assets are most affected?

The report cites OCHA as saying that floods affected low-lying areas as water levels rose in the Shabelle and Juba rivers, and that Middle Shabelle had the highest displacement, mostly in Jowhar, Mahaday and Balcad districts. No specific roads, bridges or airstrips are named.

### What is the estimated damage assessment?

No total damage cost or assessment is provided. The report quotes OCHA calling for urgent repair of main lifeline roads, bridges and airstrips, but without specifics.

### What is the UN's call for action or appeal?

According to the OCHA update as reported by Wardheer News, there is an urgent need to repair main lifeline roads, bridges and airstrips to stabilize escalating food prices and enable humanitarian access.

## Sources

- [Recent floods damage supply routes, vital infrastructure in Somalia, UN relief wing warns](https://wardheernews.com/recent-floods-damage-supply-routes-vital-infrastructure-in-somalia-un-relief-wing-warns/) — Wardheer News, 2015-11-23