The 2017 Somali drought was a severe drought that affected Somalia between late 2016 and early 2018, following consecutive seasons of low rainfall across the country. The drought brought widespread crop failure, livestock deaths, and displacement, resulting in one of the biggest humanitarian crises in Somalia since the 2011 East African drought. At its peak, it had left more than 6.2 million people, over half the country's population, requiring humanitarian assistance and facing food shortages with several water supplies becoming undrinkable due to the possibility of infection.According to the Humanitarian Information Unit of the U.S. government, over 2.9 million people in Somalia face crisis or an emergency level acute food insecurity and need emergency food aid as a result of below average to failed rains in many areas in 2016 that reduced crop production and harmed livestock. Somalia was facing its seventh consecutive poor harvest and food stability is a major issue. In the April–June rainy season little to no rainfall occurred across much of Somalia in April, but rain had begun and was forecasted for May. Lack of potable water had accelerated an acute watery diarrhea-cholera outbreak, with an estimated 32,000 cases reported since the beginning of the year. 1.4 million children were projected to need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2017, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). FEWS NET expects 2.9 million people to remain in crisis and emergency levels of acute f
Why this event still matters
Historical incidents shape the rules that protect people today — building codes, evacuation policy, warning systems and inspection regimes almost always trace back to a specific disaster. Studying 2017 Somalian drought alongside current events is how preparedness improves.
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