Dire Dawa faces another flood threat

AP
August 8, 2006

Residents of the eastern Ethiopian town of Dire Dawa plough through debris with an earth mover following lethal flash floods August 7. Hopes were fading for finding survivors from hundreds of people missing after murderous weekend flash floods.(AFP/Abraham Fisseha)

Warnings were broadcast on local radio stations that continued heavy rains in the Ethiopian highlands meant fresh flooding could occur in lowland areas.

Sandbags were being used to reinforce banks of a river in Dire Dawa, some 310 miles from the capital, Addis Ababa, after it burst early Sunday morning, local police spokesman Binyam Fikru told The Associated Press.

Ten more bodies were recovered Tuesday from the mud and debris after many victims were swept several kilometers from Dire Dawa in the torrent, he added.

Survivors were searching the city's morgue for missing loved ones.

Hundreds of homes were washed away and cars overturned when the Dechatu River flooded the town, which has a population of 300,000. At least 39 of the dead were children, police said.

Kasahun Woldegebriel broke his leg after being dragged several miles by the torrential waters while on duty as a night guard outside several shops.

"I was on my duty when I saw the flash flood," he said. "I did not have time to escape, so I climbed to the roof of one of the shops. But the flood waters demolished the house and I fell into the water. It dragged me a few kilometers away. Police found me the following morning."

Getaneh Asfaw wept outside the local hospital as he waited to collect the body of his aunt. Others, who had lost their homes, gathered on the hospital grounds for food and shelter.

Rescuers continued their search but held out little hope of finding survivors.

The government and aid agencies have set up a task force in the town to coordinate rescue and response efforts.

"We have received reports from the highland areas that the rainfall will continue today," Binyam said from the flooded town. "There could be another flood. We are warning the people on the city's FM radio about the threat.

"We are preparing to build a defense wall with sacks of sands, in case another flood does come," he said. "We have brought in 600 trainee police personnel from their nearby training camp who will also begin digging up dead bodies that we believe are covered in sand."

Dire Dawa flood death toll hits 206

DIRE DAWA, Ethiopia (AFP) - Rescuers have clawed through mud and debris with their hands, garden tools and heavy equipment in eastern Ethiopia, searching for hundreds of people missing after lethal flash floods.

While relatives began identifying victims of the weekend flooding in and around the provincial town of Dire Dawa, officials said 206 bodies had been recovered but the toll was expected to climb as 300 people were still unaccounted for.

"We have been able to recover 206 bodies and we have also rescued 96 injured people," said an official with Ethiopia's federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission on Monday.

"The search and rescue efforts are still going on but we expect the death toll to rise," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity after flying into Dire Dawa with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to inspect the damage.

"It is a sad day to all of us," Meles said in the town of some 400,000, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of Addis Ababa. "We have lost our brothers and sisters."

He added: "The Ethiopian government will do everything in its power to bring normal life back to the people of Dire Dawa and to give all needed support to those affected by the disaster."

But his consoling words appeared to have little impact on survivors who wandered the devastated streets, weeping and moaning, many unable to comprehend how the now-receded raging waters caused so much damage.

"I lost my husband and my child, my life is now nothing," said 32-year-old Bezunesh Abegaz. "I don't see any hope or future for me."

"I saw them die in a terrible way, but at least I can draw comfort from having recovered and buried them," she told AFP. "Now, I'm sorry for my neighbours who have not yet found the bodies of their loved ones."

At least 39 of the confirmed dead are children under the age of seven, according to police who said many of the casualties were women, children and the elderly who were sleeping and unable to escape when the floods hit.

Residents said they were using their bare hands, hoes, trowels, shovels as well as bulldozers and other earth-moving equipment to dig through sand, mud and rubble in search of bodies or people still alive.

Aid workers said some 10,000 people had been left homeless by the waters from the swollen Dechatu and Dire Dawa rivers which broke their banks, sweeping through the town and nearby villages, killing many while they slept.

The floods in the Addis Ketema, Genfele, Coca Cola and Aftessa districts caused massive property damage, destroying hundreds of homes, trading stalls and cutting a key road linking the town to Addis Ababa, they said.

In addition, the waters brought down electricity and telephone lines, further complicating rescue efforts in an area in Ethiopia's lowlands that is prone to flooding during the June-to-September rainy season, they said.

Last year, at least 200 people were killed and more than 260,000 displaced when heavy rains pounded the region, flooding rivers that quickly attracted large numbers of crocodiles and forced survivors to cling to trees to escape.

Over the last several years, flooding has affected large areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia, displacing tens of thousands of people and causing damage worth millions of dollars, particularly to agriculture.

The floods follow a devastating drought that hit the east Africa region, threatening the lives of about 15 million people in five countries, including Ethiopia and neighboring Somalia and Kenya.

Ethiopia, a nation of about 70 million people, has repeatedly been ravaged by natural calamities, notably drought and famine.