23 August 2006

Today, international development agency, ActionAid, warned that the death toll due to the flooding in Ethiopia could rise substantially in the next few days. Six hundred and twenty people have so far been confirmed dead, with hundreds more missing.

Many of the 50,000 people who have been made homeless by the floods are in danger of catching diseases such as malaria, cholera and diarrhoea, due to poor sanitation and overcrowding in makeshift shelters.

Dr Retta Menberu, ActionAid Ethiopia’s acting country director said:

"For the people of Dire Dawa and South Omo the recent floods have been disastrous. Tens of thousands of people have had to watch their homes and livestock wash away.

"Right now, the urgent need is to get people to higher ground and provide them with relief supplies. In the long term, they will need help to find safer places to live, build new homes, and restock their farms."

Over the past two weeks, Ethiopia has been struggling to deal with flash flooding across the country. According to the latest figures, around 118,000 people across the country had been affected in the northern region of Dire Dawa and the South Omo Valley; 620 people have been confirmed dead, 244 are missing in Dire Dawa and about 50,000 have been displaced. 18,300 people are now living in shelters, mainly near Lake Tana.

Although the level of the water appears to be receding in Dire Dawa, the death toll could rise substantially in the south of the country if more rivers overflow and dams on the Omo, Awash and Blue Nile rivers reach bursting point. Nearly all major rivers are at risk of overflowing and the soil in the central highlands is saturated with water.

ActionAid is responding to the floods in the Dire Dawa and South Omo regions by working with local partners to provide emergency relief supplies, such as rice, flour, high energy food and plastic sheeting. The agency is also committed to helping people get back on their feet in the long term.

"Loss of life is not inevitable. Government, aid agencies and civil society must work alongside the affected communities to ensure that people are not so vulnerable to the floods if they come again next year," Dr Menberu added.