Rain-induced floods in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region have displaced hundreds of people and destroyed hectares of farmland near the town of Balad, 30 km north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, officials said.

The flooding occurred when the Shabelle River burst its banks.

"Eleven villages are completely inundated along with their farmland," Mohamed Hussein Gudbaye, the Balad district commissioner, told IRIN on 19 September. "Some of the villagers were about to harvest [their crops] when the river broke its banks – [this is] the third season this is happening to them. They have lost everything."

The worst affected areas included Hawadley, Dhagahow, Misro, Dhaqalow, Mukadhere Marerey and Yaqley, Gudbaye said. "The villages are completely cut off," he added.

Heavy rainfall in neighbouring Ethiopia has caused the rivers downstream in Somalia to flood, but the problem is compounded by breaks in the river inside Somalia, according to the Somalia Water and Land Information Management Unit of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Farmers cut into river embankments to irrigate their land, which contributes to the flooding, according to local residents.

The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that since 1991, when the Somali government collapsed, the riverbed has not been de-silted and the sluice gates on the rivers or adjoining canals remain unmanned.

Gudbaye estimated that thousands of people had been affected by the flooding. Some villagers have moved to higher ground that has not been affected by the rising river water or have sought refuge in Balad town.

The floods also cut off the road to Jowhar, the regional capital, 60 km to the north - the main highway to the central and northern regions of Somalia.

"There are trucks carrying goods to the north that are stuck here," Gudbaye said.

A local emergency committee set up to deal with the flooding has begun building up the river's embankment with sandbags to prevent more flooding.

"We have so far been unable to stop the water," Mohamed Abdullahi Roble, the head of the emergency committee told IRIN. "Our priority is to first assist the affected villagers. They need food, water, shelter and clothes."

The Shabelle's water levels were still rising, leading to fears of more flooding, Gudbaye said. "If the river continues to rise, there is a real danger that Balad will be flooded," he concluded.