Ethiopian flood toll rises
2005-05-01 18:30
Addis Ababa - The death toll in floods that have swept eastern Ethiopia has risen to 112 people, but aid workers are still having difficulty reaching tens of thousands of people who have been made homeless, a senior government official said on Sunday.
About 105 000 people have been hit by the flooding in Ethiopia's eastern Somali region and that figure is expected to increase as torrential rains continue to pound the region, said Remedan Haji Ahmed, who heads the government's emergency response in the area.
"We are going to declare an emergency," Haji said from the Somali regional capital Jijiga.
"The situation is extremely serious and people are still dying," said Haji. "Thousands of people are unable to return to their homes because of flooding and crocodiles."
On April 23, the Wabe Shebelle river in the eastern Somali region burst its banks after two days of heavy rains, crashing through 40 villages and sweeping families away.
At least 24 of the flood victims are children, many of whom were swept away while sleeping, and crocodiles have eaten 19 people, Remedan said. "We are still finding bodies."
Many villages remain cut off, hampering relief efforts, while flooding has destroyed at least 84 villages, he said.
Weather forecasters are predicting continued thunderstorms in the rain-battered region, some 700 km southeast of the capital Addis Ababa. Aid workers say that food, plastic sheeting and clean water are beginning to get through to survivors, but that more is needed to prevent disease spreading.
"The aid is beginning to get through but we need more," said Eric Durpaire of the UN children's agency in the Somali region.
He said that getting clean water to survivors was now a priority to prevent diarrhoea, one of the biggest killers in Ethiopia. He also warned of malaria outbreaks in the coming weeks.
The Somali region usually suffers from severe droughts, with average rainfall of a little over 250 millimetres a year.
Flooding regularly occurs at this time of the year in the Somali region and the waters are used to regenerate soil for pasture.
In 2003, 119 people died in the last major floods in Ethiopia.
- AP