Somalia faces dual challenge of climate change and aid shortage

AFTER his home in the Somali capital was battered by torrential rains, Mohamed Abdukadir Teesto worries about his future at a time when local and foreign aid is vanishing.

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The Horn of Africa nation is among the most vulnerable to climate change, according to the UN, and in the last five years has experienced both the worst drought in 40 years and once-in-a-century flooding.

The more severe weather compounds the insecurity many Somalis face after decades of violent insurgency and political instability.

"We have cleaned our house using our bare hands," Teesto, 43, said, saying neither international agencies nor the government had offered any assistance.

"Some families who had their houses destroyed are still displaced and cannot come back," he said. "If it rains again, we will have the same situation."

Teesto is among around 24 000 people in the Banadir region, which includes Mogadishu, impacted by flooding this month that killed at least 17.