Weather forecasters expected thunderstorms that have caused severe flooding in eastern Ethiopia would continue into the weekend, raising fears of further deaths.
The Wabe Shebelle river burst its banks last Saturday after two days of heavy rains. It stretches for more than 1 340km and is Ethiopia’s largest river, with a water catchment area of 200 000km.
Thousands were left homeless after flood waters crashed into 40 villages in the Somali region, sweeping families away. The death toll on Wednesday had risen to 82, with 30 people still missing. The floods affected about 30 000 people and have caused extensive damage to property and farmland. Floodwaters swept over 10km, forcing survivors to flee their homes to the safety of higher ground.
Heavy rains and floods also hit Hargeysa, the capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, washing away one of the two bridges in the southwestern part of the city.
More than 500 families, among them elderly women and children, were displaced. About 270 families were relocated to a camp belonging to the Somaliland police force.
Relief aid has begun to reach survivors of the devastating floods. Some plastic sheeting and high-energy biscuits have arrived in the region, but rescuers have been unable to get to all the survivors. Many parts of the region still remain cut off.
”This is a catastrophe,” said Muktar Mohammed Seyyid, government relief coordinator. ”If we don’t take action, I am afraid the death toll will increase. We need boats, we need helicopters and we need food and plastic sheeting.”
In a statement released on Tuesday the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, ”The current needs include food, shelter, blankets and utensils and medical care due to the potential increase of cases of malaria and waterborne diseases.”
At this time of the year, flooding usually occurs in Ethiopia’s Somali region and the waters are used to regenerate soil for pasture. In the last major floods in 2003, 119 people were killed. — Irin