Death toll rises in Ethiopia's worst floods

10 August 2006

Addis Ababa - The death toll from weekend Ethiopia floods that devastated an eastern town rose to 250 Thursday as rescue efforts entered a fourth day, making it the worst flooding disaster ever in the impoverished Horn of African nation, officials said.

With around 10 000 people remained displaced, rescue officials said they had recovered 26 more bodies overnight pushing the previous day's toll to 250, Dire Dawa police inspector Beniam Fikru told AFP.

"We recovered 26 bodies overnight and now the death toll has reached 250," he said, adding that the identification process was being hampered as many of the retrieved bodies were either mangled or already decomposed

The search was extended Thursday to 60km downstream as many families reported that they had not recovered the bodies of their relatives.

The weekend floods that swept through Dire Dawa township some 500km east of the capital Addis Ababa has also left about 10 000 others homeless and crammed in schools and government halls, according to aid officials.

The massive flooding was triggered after intense sudden rains pounded Dire Dawa region late Saturday causing Dire Dawa and Dechatu rivers to burst their banks and sweep through villages.

At least 300 soldiers have been deployed to Dire Dawa to help clear debris and reinforce the rescue and search teams.

In the past few years, flooding has affected large areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia, displacing tens of thousands of people and causing damage running into millions of dollars, particularly to agriculture.

Last year, at least 200 people were killed and more than 260 000 displaced when heavy rains pounded the region.

Survivors were forced to cling to trees to escape being eaten by crocodiles.

In neighbouring Kenya, flash floods have killed at least six people and displaced hundreds in the past three days, officials said.

Hundreds of livestock have also been swept away. - Sapa-AFP