Puntland (WDN)-In an emergency weather advisory issued on May 12, 2026, Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA), warned of severe thunderstorms and flash floods in Puntland’s Bari and Nugaal regions between May 12 and May 17.
Puntland has forcefully rejected today the warning issued by SoDMA, which claimed that powerful storms and torrential rains were expected to hit several regions of Puntland, particularly the districts of Xaafuun, Eyl, Dangoroyo, Bandarbeyla, Qardho, and Garowe.
In a sharply worded joint statement, Puntland’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management together with the Water and Land Resources Data Management Center dismissed the federal agency’s alert as unreliable and lacking credible scientific verification.
Nevertheless, the conflicting messages make life even more difficult for already burdened rural and fishing communities. The lack of a coordinated weather forecasting and public awareness mechanism further threatens the livelihoods and safety of innocent Somali communities.
“Following an official assessment, we confirm that the information circulated is not official data that can be relied upon for decision-making,” the Puntland statement declared.
Puntland authorities openly accused the federal agency of fueling unnecessary fear and public anxiety by disseminating unverified information at a time when many communities across Puntland still carry painful memories of past natural disasters that devastated coastal and rural areas.
“The people of Puntland are urged to refrain from spreading unconfirmed reports that could trigger panic and social confusion,” the statement further warned.
The dispute has once again exposed the deepening mistrust and growing institutional friction between Puntland and Somalia’s Federal Government, particularly over the management of public information, disaster warnings, and emergency response coordination.
Many observers are now questioning why SoDMA issued such a serious warning without prior consultation or confirmation from Puntland’s own technical institutions, which are directly responsible for weather monitoring and disaster preparedness inside the region.
Local residents and analyst argue that poorly verified disaster alerts can severely undermine public confidence and inflict economic damage, especially in fragile coastal communities already struggling with insecurity, rising living costs, and economic uncertainty. Fishermen, transport operators, traders, and livestock communities are often among the first to suffer when alarming but unverified reports spread rapidly.
Puntland officials emphasized that the region’s technical agencies continue to closely monitor weather conditions and insisted that the public would immediately be informed should any genuine threat emerge based on verified scientific data.
The controversy comes at a time when Somalia as a whole is experiencing increasingly severe climate-related shocks, including floods, violent storms, drought cycles, and large-scale displacement. That reality has heightened public sensitivity around disaster warnings and reinforced calls for accuracy, professionalism, transparency, and coordination before releasing information capable of triggering widespread panic.
WardheerNews
