Sunday May 11, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — Torrential rains that battered the Somali capital overnight into Saturday left at least seven people dead and prompted the cancellation of a scheduled session of the Lower House of Parliament due to a lack of quorum.
Speaker of the House Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur (Aden Madoobe) said the downpour prevented many lawmakers from reaching Parliament, forcing the postponement of the sitting until Sunday.
“Most MPs today were stuck on the roads and were greatly affected by the rains that fell last night, which resulted in the quorum not being met,” Speaker Madoobe said in a statement.
The deluge, which dumped over 115 millimeters of rain in just eight hours, triggered widespread flash floods that inundated roads, toppled homes, and displaced hundreds of residents.
The Banadir regional administration confirmed the deaths of seven people, including children, and said more than 200 families were left homeless across several districts.
According to Banadir spokesperson Salah Omar Hassan, at least six major roads sustained damage. “These roads are vital lifelines for transport and people,” he said, warning that mobility across the capital could be severely impacted if urgent repairs are not made.
Public transport services were suspended, and the floods temporarily disrupted operations at Aden Abdulle International Airport, although flights resumed later in the day.
The Somali Disaster Management Agency continued emergency assessments on Saturday, as rescue teams worked to reach families trapped in flooded neighborhoods.
Saturday’s session was the second to be postponed in recent weeks. A prior session was scrapped due to political tensions and growing calls by some lawmakers for a motion of no confidence against the speaker.
Climate shocks are nothing new to Somalia. In 2023, El Nino-fueled flooding killed more than 100 people and displaced over a million. And the crisis continues. A U.N. report from late April indicated that 45,000 people across the country had already been affected by flash floods since mid-month.
The Energy and Water Ministry warned of potential flash floods in other regions, citing the city’s overwhelmed drainage system and rapid urban expansion as key vulnerabilities in this unfolding disaster.