Ethiopian flood victims get aid
2006-08-22 15:25
Addis Ababa - The first overland relief supplies for tens of thousands of victims of fatal flash floods reached devastated southern Ethiopia on Tuesday, amid fears of a sharp rise in the death toll.
After slogging through hundreds of kilometres of muddy roads and fording rivers, where bridges were washed away, aid trucks arrived at a staging post in the region from where supplies would be distributed by air and boat.
Officials said the 11-vehicle convoy rolled into the town of Omerate, about 980km southwest of Addis Ababa, with food, water, medicine, tents and sandbags for the survivors of the floods that had killed at least 364 people in the Omo River valley.
Sisay Taddeses, a spokesperson for Ethiopia's Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Agency, said: "We have finally been able to reach Omerate with trucks, which will ease the logistical nightmare we have been facing until today."
10 000 people displaced
He and others said that the first shipments would be taken by helicopter and powerboat to up to 8 000 villagers who remained cut off by the floods in the Southern Nationalities, Nations and People's state.
Defence ministry spokesperson Dawit Assefa said: "We have three helicopters making 10 flights a day to drop material and food to those who are unreachable.
"Our special forces units and helicopters will continue to provide the support until all areas are reachable and everyone is accounted for and relocated to safer ground."
In addition to the confirmed deaths, the United Nations said up to 10 000 people had been displaced by flooding in the Omo River, one of several Ethiopia waterways to have burst their banks since the beginning of the month.
6 000 people left homeless
The UN Organisation for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said: "As more information is obtained from the remote villages, now encircled by flood waters, the level of casualties is expected to be even higher."
Nationwide, UN officials said 118 000 people had been affected by the flooding caused by unusually heavy seasonal rains, particularly in the southwest and the east, where 256 people were killed and 6 000 left homeless.
Concerns about the spread of water-borne diseases were also growing as rain continued to pound the Ethiopian highlands, threatening dams, where water levels were now at a critical stage.
Authorities had warned residents near three dams in the west, south and north to leave their homes as they began controlled releases of water to ease pressure on the facilities and prevent them from breaking.