Beereey, HirShabelle State, Somalia – Severe flooding triggered by the overflowing Shabelle River has forced dozens of farmers to flee their homes and abandon their fields in Beereey village, located in Somalia’s HirShabelle State. Torrential waters have destroyed entire crop yields, compounding an already dire food security situation in the region.

Residents say the flooding began after the Shabelle River burst its banks, inundating large swaths of farmland and making cultivation impossible. “Everything we planted has been washed away,” said one displaced farmer before stating that they lost their harvests, homes, and have no idea how they will survive.

This latest disaster underscores the mounting toll of climate change in Somalia, where extreme weather events—ranging from prolonged droughts to sudden floods—are becoming more frequent and intense. Experts warn that the country’s agricultural systems, already fragile due to conflict and underdevelopment, are ill-equipped to cope with the escalating climate crisis.

According to environmental officials and humanitarian agencies, the Beereey disaster is a stark example of how rising global temperatures are altering rainfall patterns and river flows across the Horn of Africa. The alternating cycle of drought and flood, they say, is one of the clearest indicators of climate instability.

“The floods in Beereey are not isolated,” said a climate resilience expert based in Mogadishu. “They are part of a disturbing trend linked to global climate change that is displacing communities and threatening livelihoods.”

Local authorities and aid organizations are now mobilizing to assess the damage and provide emergency support to affected families. However, they caution that without long-term investments in climate adaptation, infrastructure, and early warning systems, such disasters will continue to endanger rural populations.

As climate impacts intensify, Somalia’s government and international partners face growing pressure to prioritize sustainable water management and climate-resilient agriculture to safeguard the country’s food production and rural communities.