Flash floods kill 29

2008-06-01 11:24

Jijiga - Twenty-nine people, mostly children, were killed and 35 wounded in weekend flash floods in the eastern Ethiopian city of Jijiga, officials said.

"We have recovered 29 bodies so far from early Friday's floods in Cheraketo (district). A majority of those were children," regional president Abdullahi Hassan told AFP.

"Another 35 were injured and some 162 homes were destroyed when torrential rains swept through" overnight Friday to Saturday, he added.

The region hit by the flash floods is also facing a drought from the failed rainy seasons. Last month, aid agencies warned that over 3.4 million people in several states, including the Somali region, required immediate food aid.

Unicef also said up to six million children were threatened by the drought, of which 126 000 were already suffering from severe malnutrition.

"It (the drought) is totally unexpected, some areas such as the Somali region have been exposed to malnutrition and other problems due to the poor rains," said Deputy Prime Minister Addisu Legesse, who led a government delegation to Jijiga on Saturday.

"We are trying to mobilise our resources immediately. But as the rains are coming, we expect the risks" to decrease, he added.

According to the World Food Programme, more than 183 000 people were affected by floods in the Horn of Africa nation last year, of which 42 000 were displaced and kept in temporary shelters.

- AFP