ETHIOPIA: Over 60 dead in Somali region floods

[SOO MAAL]

ETHIOPIA: Over 60 dead in Somali region floods

26 Apr 2005 13:16:20 GMT

 

Source: IRIN

 

ADDIS ABABA, 26 April (IRIN) - Floods have killed 66 people and the death toll could rise further after a river burst its banks in eastern Ethiopia because of heavy rains, rescuers said on Tuesday.

 

Many of the victims were sleeping when crashing floodwaters hit 40 villages in the remote Somali region, some 700 km southeast of the capital of Addis Ababa. Houses were destroyed and families were swept away, emergency officials said.

 

Rescuers are scrambling to reach the survivors in the area, many parts of which still remain cut off from rescue efforts.

 

The Wabe Shebelle is the largest river in Ethiopia, stretching 1,340 km and with a water catchment area of 200,000 km. It burst its banks on Saturday after two days of heavy rains. Flood waters stretched 10 km and forced survivors to flee their homes for the safety of higher ground.

 

Aid organisations and government officials at an emergency meeting in the Somali region capital Jijiga reported on Tuesday that 900 houses had been washed away.

 

Local officials have also reported that some deaths have been caused by attacks from crocodiles that infest the river. Survivors also were clinging to trees to escape the rising floodwaters, officials in the region stated.

 

And, according to humanitarian officials in the area, in some areas the floodwater is still rising. The rains also hit several thousand displaced people living in two former refugee camps, washing away their homes and leaving many of them in the mud.

 

Rescuers are currently preparing an assessment of the scale of damage, which they expect to finalise by the end of Tuesday.

 

"We need food, shelter and fuel to help the people," Ahmed Abdi, from the UN's World Food Programme in Gode, Somali region, said by telephone.

 

He said 38 people had died in West Imi in Afder Zone while 28 had drowned in East Imi in Gode Zone. The affected population in the two zones is around 110,000.

 

Rescuers also say they fear that malaria could spread.

 

Ahmed said two helicopters are expected to arrive on Tuesday to help reach areas that are still cut off. He added that in some areas the water level was decreasing, but weather forecasters say that heavy rains and thunderstorms are expected in the coming days and over the weekend.

 

The Ethiopian federal government has also sent in two Antonovs aircraft into Gode with food and fuel aboard to help survivors.

 

Flooding regularly occurs at this time of the year in Somali region, where the waters are used to regenerate soil for pasture. In the last major floods in 2003, 119 people were killed.

[SOO MAAL]

Ethiopia's Somali region devastated by floods and heavy rain

Tue. April 26, 2005 10:37 pm.

Floods killed more than 60 people and displaced many people in Ethiopia’s eastern region. Wabi Shabelle, the largest river in Ethiopia burst its banks after days of heavy raining. Most people were caught off guard in their beds at night.

 

Reports from the region say the floods washed away around 900 homes and estimated 100,000 people are affected. Deadly crocodiles are roaming the affected areas and some attacks have been reported.

 

This Somali populated region is claimed by both Somalia and Ethiopia. The two countries fought over its control many times

[SOO MAAL]

1 000s displaced by rain

28/04/2005 21:28 - (SA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Addis Ababa - Ethiopian authorities on Thursday warned of new deaths and damage as non-stop rains pounded parts of southeastern Ethiopia where devastating weekend floods have left at least 88 people dead and about 60 000 displaced.

 

The rain, which started early on Thursday, prevented humanitarian assessment teams deployed in the affected Godie region from returning to compile reports, officials said.

 

"It has been raining since morning and this has complicated the efforts of the assessment teams that was sent to the affected areas," regional disaster prevention chief Abdullahi Mahdi told AFP from the regional capital of Jigiga.

 

"At the same time, the volume of the river is increasing in some areas and we are afraid that areas such as Mustahin, Kelafo and Ferfier (in Godie) will be submerged by water and this could bring the damage and deaths to people and now," he said.

 

The appearance of crocodiles is posing a threat to the displaced, with survivors in some parts of the region still clinging to trees in desperation to avoid being eaten.

 

Relief supplies began arriving in the flood-ravaged region on Tuesday, but access to Somali state's most remote communities, like Mustahil, was still proving difficult and the new rains had complicated the situation.

 

The flooding, which began on Saturday, followed days of uninterrupted rain in the highlands to the north of the affected area and hit most villages at night, taking sleeping residents by surprise.

 

Before the rains, the area had been repeatedly hit by drought and the dried up river bed was unable to handle the excess water, leading to flooding along almost its entire length that stretched across the border into Somalia.

 

Edited by Elmarie Jack

[SOO MAAL]

ABC Online

 

Ethiopia pleads for help as flood death toll increases. 30/04/2005. ABC News Online

 

[This is the print version of story "]http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1356843.htm]

 

 

Last Update: Saturday, April 30, 2005. 0:42am (AEST)

Ethiopia pleads for help as flood death toll increases

Ethiopian authorities on Friday pleaded for help in dealing with devastating floods that have swept through the country's south-east as the death toll from water and crocodiles rose to at least 107.

 

At least 99 people have drowned in the flooding that began at the weekend and another eight have been devoured by crocodiles that have taken to the raging waters of the Wabe Shebell river since it burst its banks on Saturday, officials said.

 

"We need some support mainly in small boats to move people to safe and high lands, more blankets, plastic sheeting and cooking utensils, including cups and plates," said the regional disaster chief of Ethiopia's south-eastern Somali state, 1,380 kilometre from Addis Ababa.

 

In one area alone, near Kelafo in Somali state's Godie district, eight people were eaten by crocodiles and seven washed away by the waters which submerged 84 villages and, the official, Abdullahi Mahdi, told AFP.

 

"Due to the continuing of heavy rain in the highland up north and within the affected areas ... the death toll has increased in the lowland areas down stream in Deghabur," he said.

 

Relief supplies began arriving in the flood-ravaged region on Tuesday but access to Somali state's most remote communities, like Mustahil, was still proving difficult and the new rains had complicated the situation.

 

- AFP