Flood or Drought: This App Helps Somalians Cope with Natural Disasters

Somalia is upgrading its climate threat resilience: the developing country will soon be the very first in the region with a mobile phone alert system that texts residents a warning about expected floods, droughts and other disasters.

The alert system, launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Somali government, is designed to provide information on the closest water resources as drought strengthens, or on where to go to avoid an incoming flood. The system is part of a disaster resilience project that includes efforts to educate pastoralists in the conflict-hit nation on improved management techniques that help reduce the risk of losing animals.

“This project is really looking into resiliency-building of the most vulnerable people,” says Abdul Qadir Rafiq of UNDP Somalia.

According to the UNDP, the nationwide mobile phone-based alert system – which will use sophisticated data from monitoring stations and satellites to warn people of danger directly through their mobiles – will be the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.