The Shebelle, one of Somalia’s two major rivers, went completely dry for the first time in 2017. That same year, the number of new people displaced in Somalia because of disasters shot up to 899,000, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Despite different mitigation measures, the trend continues to move largely upward.

Concern Worldwide removed silt from one section of the river, with the possibility of preventing flooding once the river again filled and eventually overflowed — an increasingly common occurrence in the region.

“If you look at it from a country perspective, the impact was deep for the local community who are within a certain area ... but going downwards or upwards [along] the river, then the situation remained the same,” said Mercy Gitau, a WASH specialist with the Norwegian Refugee Council in Somalia.

Amid proclamations that a new, great international migration — sparked mainly by climate change and its varied impacts — has begun, the reality of climate-induced displacement remains largely invisible, contained within countries.

Nearly 25 million people were displaced in 2019 because of natural disasters, compared with approximately 8.6 million displaced by conflict and violence. The figures for those displaced due to disaster vary each year but have steadily trumped the number forced to flee because of violence since 2008. Around the world, the number of people displaced within their own countries rose by almost 25% in 2019.

“What we see in those instances where we have some insights is that people stay within as close by as possible usually or move into the next urban area. So open urban centers are really the magnet, in a sense, for most of this type of displacement, so people can seek other opportunities for livelihoods, etc.,” said Bina Desai, head of programs at IDMC.
........
Nearly 25 million people were displaced in 2019 because of natural disasters, compared with approximately 8.6 million displaced by conflict and violence. The figures for those displaced due to disaster vary each year but have steadily trumped the number forced to flee because of violence since 2008. Around the world, the number of people displaced within their own countries rose by almost 25% in 2019.

“What we see in those instances where we have some insights is that people stay within as close by as possible usually or move into the next urban area. So open urban centers are really the magnet, in a sense, for most of this type of displacement, so people can seek other opportunities for livelihoods, etc.,” said Bina Desai, head of programs at IDMC.
Among other reasons, many displaced people stay within their own nations due to “push factors” keeping them out of neighboring countries — even if those borderlands offer a more familiar landscape than urban centers. In Somalia, pastoralists whose livelihoods are threatened by the cyclical nature of intensifying floods, followed by drought and then floods once again, are finding that neighboring countries are experiencing similar environmental threats, according to Gitau. In other cases, the cost of cross-border migration can be prohibitive.

“And if they cross to the other side of a [border], then this can actually cause conflict — over water and pasture, especially. So you find people will refrain from crossing and just try to move around and within the country until all options are actually exhausted internally,” Gitau said.
“What we are seeing, and will continue to see, is more and more people coming to the towns. It’s becoming harder and harder to remain in the villages,” Gitau continued.