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Floods affect more than 200 000, displace 100 000 people in Ethiopia

floods-affect-more-than-200-000-displace-100-000-people-in-ethiopia

Severe flooding affecting Ethiopia since late April has impacted at least 219 000 people and displaced as many as 104 000.

Tens of thousands have been displaced following major inundations that affected mostly those in the Somali region. Flash floods also killed four in Dire Dawa and destroyed at least 260 homes partially or totally.

On May 4, flooding in the Dawa river caused the total collapse of the main bridges between Hudget to Negalle and Mubarak to Filtu. "Local communities in the Dawa zone that spoke to humanitarian partners stated that they have never experienced such amount of water in the Dawa River," OCHA noted.

Heavy rains made travel difficult to rural areas within the Dawa zone. Aside from flooding, landslides have been occurring in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNP) since mid-April.

Heavy downpour is likely to occur over areas of eastern, southern, southeastern, and southwestern regions of the country for the rest of May, the National Meteorological Agency said. NMA added that the seasonal rain will increase its temporal and spatial coverage beyond the usual.

Government and humanitarian partners are currently dealing with flood preparedness and response amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Flood Task Force was reactivated to coordinate flood response activities at national and sub-national levels, which is chaired by NDRMC while OCHA provides secretariat support. A Regional Flood Task Force was also reactivated in the Somali region.

Featured image credit: Abdirizak Farah

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