A former British protectorate, Somaliland broke away from the rest of Somalia 10 months after Somali strongman Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.
The worst drought in Somalia in a decade has killed large numbers of livestock and forced a mass migration of farmers into the area around the port of Berbera.
The drought was followed by heavy rains that caused deaths due to disease and flooding.
The refugees join a large population of urban poor that lost their animals years ago and took refuge in relatively peaceful Somaliland, a breakaway section of Somalia.
But their arrivals have put a huge strain on public facilities in Berbera.
The town’s water and sanitation systems employ an outdated network of wells and pipes that were constructed during the Ottoman Empire.
Even after being refurbished by UNICEF, the water system is straining to keep up with the new arrivals due to the drought.