Crocs hamper Ethiopia flood aid
2006-11-01 13:59
Addis Ababa - Crocodiles and snakes hampered efforts on Wednesday to help more than 279 000 people left homeless by the latest massive floods to blight Ethiopia, which had killed 1 000 people this year, said authorities.
Relief officials said the overflowing in recent days of Wabe Shebelle River in southeastern Ethiopia had submerged whole villages, washed away houses, cut off roads, killed at least 68 people and left corpses stuck in trees and undergrowth.
Muktar Mohamed, relief co-ordinator for the affected Somali region, said: "The towns of Mustahel, Kelafo, East and West Emi, Hargele, Charati, Kebrei Dahar and Dolo Ado have all been devastated by the force of the flood."
He confirmed that 279 075 people were homeless.
Crocodiles attack six bodies
The latest disaster in the world's seventh poorest country followed the death of about 900 Ethiopians after various rivers burst their banks during the June-September rainy season.
In the latest floods in remote areas mainly inhabited by herders, relief workers said half a dozen bodies had been attacked by crocodiles, and rescuers in boats were at risk.
Muktar said: "Two boats sent by the federal government are operating in Mustahel. They are encountering problems of crocodile attacks."
He added that poisonous snakes were another hazard for both rescue workers and victims of the floods. The Ethiopian government and UN agencies had sent aid to the area, although communications and transport were poor.
Muktar said: "It is possible that the death toll could increase, because there were reports by families of children, women and the elderly unaccounted for."
Rescuers said about 1 000 head of cattle had been washed away and 17 000 hectares of crop-laden farmland ruined.
Aid workers said excessive land cultivation, over-grazing and deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous nation - with 79 million inhabitants - had contributed to this year's flood problems