Emergency ES/NFI Response for flood-affected IDP households in the Somali Regional State In Ethiopia, heavy flooding which has come on the heels of the worst drought in 50 years has displaced thousands of people in Somali, Afar, Amhara, Harari and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) regions. As of 10 May 2016, 43,071 households were reported to have been displaced due to flooding (IOM, May 2016).  The Emergency Shelter and Non-food Items (ES/NFI) taskforce led by the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) has estimated that some 485,610 people will be affected by river and flash floods during the 2016 belg season, with 189,668 people likely to be displaced as a result (UNOCHA, May 2016). 

The Somali region has been worst hit by the effects of recent flooding. From April-May 2016, excessive rains in adjacent highland areas in Oromia, Somaliland, and Dire Dawa have led to sudden onset of flash floods in Sitti zone and Jigjiga town. Woredas in and around the Shebelle river and seasonal streams have similarly been affected by heavy flooding.  Over 31,176 households in the Somali region have been displaced due to flooding while an additional 6,710 households were identified as flood-prone (IOM, May 2016). Still reeling from the effects of the El-nino related drought, flood-affected households have had their protection, safety, and dignity further compromised, losing their remaining property and livestock. IDPs and vulnerable households who had been living in make-shift shelters have had their homes destroyed by the rains. 

Across the Somali region, ES/NFI has been identified as the most critical need among flood displaced households by government bureaus and implementing agencies alike.  In June 2016, The Somali Region Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau had reported 36,922 households affected by flood and in need of ES/NFI support.  As of end of May, the ES/NFI Cluster reached 21% of the caseload with 17,991 ES/NFI kits.  In response to the ES/NFI Flood Response appeal released by the Shelter cluster, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) has made in-kind donation of 30,000 ES/NFI kits for flood affected populations across the country.  Of the projected 36,922 flood-affected households in need of ES/NFI support, the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) has allocated 8,284 of the DFID-donated ES/NFI kits for distribution by NRC in the Somali Regional State (SRS). However, NRC does not currently have sufficient funds to handle the transportation, warehousing, and distribution costs for the allocated kits.

The overall  objective of this project is to improve the protection, safety, and dignity of flood-affected IDP households in the Somali Regional State by providing life-saving emergency shelter and non-food item (ES/NFI) assistance. NRC will target the most vulnerable IDP households in Sitti, Fafan and Nogob zones, with a focus on enhancing their coping mechanisms and reducing suffering associated with dispossession.  NRC will seek the financial support of the EHF to cover transportation, warehousing and distribution costs for the 8,284 DfID-donated ES/NFI kits. NRC will be responsible for the preparation of kits and for their distribution in seven woredas in SRS:  Mieso, Afdem, Erer, Hadigala and Shinile woredas in Sitti Zone Fik woreda in Nogob zone and Jigjiga town in Fafan zone.