Archive:Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Somalia

2005-07-29T12:36:49Z

217.118.241.4:

[[Image:Somalia-Puntland.png|right|thumb|200px|Map of Somalia with Puntland roughly highlighted in blue. Hafun is the small peninsula in the northeast.]]
Villages and coastal communities in [[Somalia]], as far as 4,500km (2,800 miles) from the [[epicentre]] of the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]] were swept away and destroyed by the resulting [[tsunami]] on [[26 December]] [[2004]]. As of [[5 January]] [[2005]] the confirmed death toll stood at 298. According to presidential spokesperson [[Yusuf Mohamed Ismail]] of the transitional government, more than 50,000 people were displaced.

Most of the damage was in the coastal region of the semi-autonomous [[Puntland]] area, particularly the region between [[Hafun]] in the [[Bari, Somalia|Bari]] region and [[Garacad]] in the [[Mudug]] region. The narrow and low-lying peninsula of [[Hafun]], 1150km (715 miles) northeast of [[Mogadishu]], was particularly devastated. In Puntland, rising waters destroyed properties in especially Hafun and Kulub, while parts of the towns and villages of Bander Beyla, Eyl, Foar and Bargaal were flooded. Other coastal areas including [[Lower Juba]] were also somewhat affected. The UN reported that the water destroyed 1,180 homes, smashed 2,400 boats and rendered freshwater wells and reservoirs unusable. The main sand bridge connecting Hafun to the mainland was damaged. As of [[6 January]], the village of [[Kulub]], near [[Gara'ad]], was still partially submerged. At [[Kulub]] and other places such as [[Hurdiye]], teams from the [[World Food Programme]] reported that all the boats and other fishing equipment used by the residents to make a livelihood had been lost.

== Aftermath ==

Around 12 tonnes of [[rice]], [[maize]] and [[vegetable oil]] were delivered to Hafun on [[30 December]], four days after the tsunami. Previous attempts to deliver aid failed after trucks were unable to pass tsunami damaged roads near [[Foar]], a village of 1000 people living in [[mud-and-wattle]] huts that was destroyed. The main sand bridge which connects the Hafun peninsula to the mainland was damaged. The twelve tonnes were then transferred onto two four-wheel drive vehicles that managed the 60km trip from Foar to Hafun in seven hours. The UN warned that the tsunami had worsened the situation after four years of [[drought]] in northern Somalia and further aid is desperately needed. It has distributed 200 tonnes of food aid to 12,000 people, but states that food for 30,000 is needed. The UN has four teams in the area and on [[4 January]] appealed for USD 13m to assist 54,000 Somalis affected by the tsunami. As part of the flash interagency appeal of [[U.S. Dollar|USD]] 977m made by the [[UN Secretary-General]] on [[6 January]], USD 10m was requested for Somalia. In February, the US government made USD one million available for tsunami relief in Somalia. [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KHII-69E4K3?OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=som]

Much of the remote 1,000km (600 mile) coast is controlled by various clan-based militias, making obtaining accurate information difficult. Relief officials have been unable to make observation flights because of the fear of being fired upon by anti-aircraft batteries. The transitional Somali government is based in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]] because the capital city of Mogadishu is too unsafe. Prime Minister [[Ali Mohammed Ghedi]] cancelled a trip on [[4 January]] [[2005]], which would have been his first visit to Somalia since being appointed.

==External links ==
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-01-06-somalia-usat_x.htm Remote Somali village reels from latest hardship], [[USA Today]], [[6 January]] [[2005]]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4147097.stm Somali tsunami victim toll rises], [[BBC]], 5 January 2005
* [http://mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-Africa&ao=177267 Somali tsunami death toll climbs], [[Mail & Guardian]], [[2 January]] [[2005]]

{{Tsunami2004impact}}

[[Category:2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|Somalia]]
[[Category:December 2004 news|Indian Ocean earthquake]]
[[Category:Somalia]]

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Archive:Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on Somalia