The GU 2015 rainy season started off early in many parts of the country in the third dekad of March and continued to spread spatially in the first and second dekads of April. The season was generally good in most parts of the country, with many places recording normal to above normal rains. The good rains led to improved water availability and favorable soil moisture conditions for both crop and pasture growth. However some parts of the country experienced floods, displacement of people, destruction of property and infrastructure and loss of livestock. The rains ended early in the south and central parts of the country – a cause for concern in the agriculture and livestock sectors. For more details in the season rainfall performance as well as the impacts, please see the attached bulletin

During the first dekad of June 2015 (1st – 10th), there was a decrease of rainfall activities from the previous dekad across the country with moderate rains being recorded in parts of the northern regions and no rainfall in the southern and central parts of the country. Figure (1) shows the rainfall observational network and monthly rainfall distribution for selected stations across the country. The table below is a brief summary of the rainfall situation by region for this dekad. This update will be issued every 10-days throughout the Gu rainy season.

We are pleased to share Issue 8 of our newsletter “SWALIM Update” for the period January 2015 - April 2015. The frequencies of SWALIM’s newsletter have changed effective January 2015. You will now receive our newsletter every 4 months and not quarterly. This issue of the newsletter provides updates on SWALIM water and land information management activities such as: • The Re-branding of SWALIM • Expansion of the Juba River Monitoring Network • How SWALIM is Engaging with Communities to Build Flood Resilience • Land Degradation in Somalia • SWALIM Holds an Academic Open Day in Borama • Building a Sustainable Climate Data Monitoring System • Capacity Needs Assessment Study for Line Ministries We hope you will enjoy this edition. You feedback will be highly appreciated.

Floods can happen anytime and anywhere. And they can happen fast. So whether you live near the water or not, you should always be ready. SWALIM has prepared some important things you can do to prepare. This flood preparedness information leaflet covers: 1. Definition of a flood 2. Preparation before a flood 3. Actions to take during and after a flood

Moderate to heavy rains are expected to continue in the next three days within the north western parts of Somalia. The upper parts of Juba and Shabelle River basins within the Ethiopian highlands, whose rainfall contribute significantly to the river flow inside Somalia, may also record moderate to heavy rains during the same period. There will be a reduction of rainfall activities during the forecast period within Bari, and Sool, Nugaal, Mududg and Galgad regions. Other places including the Southern regions are expected to record light to moderate rains.

The Somalia rainfall forecast for Gu 2015 rainy season is calling for normal rains in most parts of the country with few areas expected to receive enhanced rains. Despite the normal rains and due to the weak river embankments in the Juba and Shabelle rivers, there is risk of flooding owing to the topography of the area, uncontrolled irrigation activities and poor river basin management due to collapse of pre-war flood control infrastructure. As part of flood preparedness and contingency planning SWALIM, using satellite images, has mapped the river breakages in the middle and lower parts of the two rivers which are most vulnerable. The breakages database produced and shared with you earlier has been updated to include recent data for the January and February 2015 period. Three types of breakages have been identified namely; open, potential and closed. The open breakages are those that were still open during the period of investigation. The potential breakages represent points that have very weak river embankment or have experienced several breakages in the recent past. The closed breakages are those that were previously open but efforts have been made to close them.

Somalia has frequently been affected by droughts, famines and water-related humanitarian crises. Water is scarce and the only perennial streams, the Juba and Shabelle rivers, are transboundary with river flows mainly originating from the Ethiopian highlands. In both riparian countries water demands are projected to increase. This paper reveals the impact of rising regional water abstractions on stream flows by illustrating sectoral demands and joining them into scenarios of medium and high population and economic growth. These scenarios are associated to the time horizons of 2035 and 2055 respectively. The scenarios disclose alarming trends especially for the Shabelle River: In the medium and high growth scenarios, water demands surpass the available river flows by 200 and 3500 hm3, respectively. The calculated deficits partly derive from conflicting assumptions about river flows by the two main riparian countries, an obstacle to any integrated planning efforts and sustained regional development.

We are pleased to share Issue 7 of our quarterly newsletter “SWALIM Update” for the period August 2014 - October 2014 The newsletter provides updates on SWALIM water and land information management activities such as: • SWALIM Completes Mapping Riverbank Breakages on Juba and Shabelle rivers • Over 100 Partners Trained in SWALIM Information Management Tools • Somali Water Sources Information Goes Live • SWALIM - 10 Years of Sustained EU Funding • Expansion of the Weather Monitoring Network in South and Central Somalia • SWALIM Conducts Partner Capacity Needs Assessment • SWALIM Supports Development of the Somali National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) We hope you will enjoy this edition. You feedback will be highly appreciated.

During the week ending on 01 December 2014, there was decrease in rainfall activities within the Juba and Shabelle river basins inside Somalia with most stations recording no rains with exception of Bullae in Middle Juba region recording a total of 14mm and Belet weyne in Hiran region recording 8.5mm of rainfall.

During the third Dekad of November 2014 (21 – 30 November), there was no rainfall activities in the northern parts of Somalia with the exception of Eafweyne in Sanaag region of Somaliland and some stations in the north eastern regions that received moderate rains. There was continued rainfall activities in the Southern parts of the country with some stations receiving above normal rains.