Death Toll from Ethiopia Landslide Rises to 229: Local Official

By Al Mayadeen English

23 Jul 2024 14:41

The death toll from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has risen sharply to 229, and the number could increase further.

A local official reported on Tuesday that the death toll from a landslide in southern Ethiopia has increased to at least 229, with concerns that the number may continue to rise. This constitutes the deadliest such disaster recorded in the Horn of Africa nation.

The landslide occurred on Monday around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) following heavy rains in a mountainous area of the South Ethiopia regional state. Previously, the reported death toll was 55.

So far, 148 men and 81 women are confirmed to have lost their lives after the disaster struck in the Kencho-Shacha locality in the Gofa Zone on Monday, the local Communications Affairs Department said in a statement.

Five people had been pulled alive from the mud and were receiving treatment at medical facilities, the government-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation reported earlier.

"Initially, four households were affected by the landslide, and later households in the area were mobilised to save lives," Firaol Bekele, early warning director at the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC), told AFP.

"But they too perished when the landslide engulfed them," he said, adding that the disaster was caused by heavy rains that had battered the area on Sunday night.

EBC quoted local administrator Dagemawi Ayele as saying that among the victims were the locality's administrator as well as teachers, health professionals, and agricultural professionals who had rushed to help.

On Monday, images shared on Facebook by the state-affiliated media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate depicted hundreds of people gathered near a stark scene of collapsed red soil, illustrating the devastation caused by the landslide.

The photographs depicted people using their bare hands to sift through the soil, desperately searching for survivors amid the devastation.

The Gofa zone is situated approximately 450 kilometers (270 miles) north of the capital Addis Ababa, requiring about a 10-hour drive, and is located north of the Maze National Park.

According to the UN's humanitarian response agency OCHA, the South Ethiopia regional state has been severely affected by short seasonal rains occurring between April and early May, resulting in flooding and widespread displacement of communities.