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River Hydromorphology and Flood Hazard in Somalia

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Landscapes and Landforms of the Horn of Africa

Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

Abstract

The Juba and Wabe Shabelle are the largest permanent rivers of Somalia and of the whole Horn of Africa. Though these rivers have neighboring catchments of almost the same size, their hydrology and channel dynamics are rather different. Such differences are investigated in the modern rivers, and a comparison with old (Quaternary?) avulsion channels is made. Basic geomorphic parameters of the old channels are measured from satellite images and bankfull discharge is calculated by simple equations using meander wavelength as the main entry parameter. Geological information and satellite images analysis revealed the occurrence of old, presently inland, deltas. Presently, the Shabelle R. is not entering the ocean north of Mogadisho as it would be expected for the regional gradient, but proceeds southwestward parallel to the coast for a few hundreds of kilometers before to reach the Juba R. A new hypothesis to explain this apparent anomaly is presented. In the last two decades, both the study rivers experienced an increased frequency of high, devastating floods causing several fatalities and affecting thousands of people. The causes of such increase in flood hazard are manifold and include both a climate worsening and human impact.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by funds from the International Platform for Dryland Research and Education (IPDRE), Tottori University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan

    Paolo Billi

  2. Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Mesenbet Yibeltal Sebhat

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  1. Paolo Billi
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  2. Mesenbet Yibeltal Sebhat
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Correspondence to Paolo Billi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, University of Tottori, Tottori, Japan

    Paolo Billi

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Billi, P., Sebhat, M.Y. (2022). River Hydromorphology and Flood Hazard in Somalia. In: Billi, P. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of the Horn of Africa. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05487-7_13

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