First overland aid arrives for flood victims

AFP | August 22, 2006

One pilot said he saw over 1,000 people marooned by floods but couldn't land because the area was inaccessible (Photo: BBC)

After slogging through hundreds of kilometers (miles) of muddy roads and fording rivers where bridges were washed away, aid trucks arrived at a staging post in the region from where supplies will be distributed by air and boat.

The 11-vehicle convoy rolled into the town of Omerate, about 980 kilometers (610 miles) southwest of Addis Ababa, with food, water, medicine, tents, and sandbags for the survivors of the floods that have killed at least 364 people in the Omo River valley, officials said.

"We have finally been able to reach Omerate with trucks, which will ease the logistical nightmare we have been facing until today," said Sisay Taddeses, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Agency.

He and others said in Addis Ababa that the first shipments would be taken by helicopter and powerboat to up to 8,000 villagers who remain cut off by the floods in the Southern Nationalities, Nations and People's state.

"We have three helicopters making 10 flights a day to drop material and food to those who are unreachable," said defense ministry spokesman Dawit Assefa. "Our special forces units and helicopters will continue to provide the support until all areas reachable and everyone is accounted for and relocated to safer ground," he said.

In addition to the confirmed deaths, the United Nations says that up to 10,000 people have been displaced by flooding in the Omo River, one of several Ethiopia waterways to have burst their banks since the beginning of the month.

"As more information is obtained from the remote villages now encircled by flood waters, the level of casualties is expected to be even higher," the UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

Nationwide, UN officials say that 118,000 people have been affected by the flooding caused by unusually heavy seasonal rains, particularly in the southwest and the east, where 256 people were killed and 6,000 left homeless.

Concerns about the spread of water-borne diseases are also growing as rain continues to pound the Ethiopian highlands, threatening dams where water levels are now at a critical stage.

Authorities have warned residents near three dams in the west, south, and north to leave their homes as they began controlled releases of water to ease pressure on the facilities and prevent them from breaking.

No milk, no life. No cattle, no life

Omerate - Hundreds of Ethiopians marooned on small outcrops above flooded plains refused to abandon livestock despite rescuers' pleas on Saturday.

Special forces, sliding down ropes from helicopters and airdropping aid, tried to rescue people trapped by flash floods that have killed nearly 900 people and displaced almost 50 000 across the Horn of Africa nation this month.

Stranded on hillocks by the floodwaters, herders in the southwestern town of Omerate leaned on sticks and stared across the virtual sea separating them from their cows and goats.

A special forces commander said they would die unless they agreed to be rescued.

"Survival without cattle is meaningless. I would prefer to die than lose my cattle," Awala Rendela, a rescued resident who lost his livestock, said.

"No milk, no life. No cattle, no life."

A drought earlier this year killed thousands of livestock in the region and many herders in Omerate said they would not abandon what cattle they had left.

Pleading with them to leave, rescuers on boats brought food and supplies to the encircled residents in the town near the Kenyan border, where the Omo River burst its banks on Sunday killing 364 people, many while they were sleeping.

"They are encircled by flood water and they are facing certain death unless they are rescued, but they have refused to budge," said Major Solomon Gebre-Ebegzabher, commander of the special forces conducting rescue operations in Omerate.

In a tour of the devastated area on Friday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promised the government would help the stranded.

Local officials pledged to replace all livestock lost in the flooding and sent a team of elders to convince the trapped herders to evacuate.

"We are hoping that they will heed the call and register the number of animals lost in the flood," district administrator Dirma Gmewenya said.

"We have no means to rescue the cattle."

Bad weather and poor access to remote areas have hindered relief efforts by already overwhelmed emergency services, and officials fear the death toll could rise rapidly.

Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, has appealed for help as rivers in the north, south, east and west burst their banks after heavy rains and the country's major dams swelled to breaking point.

Aid agencies say heavy rains are likely to continue until September and spread flooding to other areas.

The United Nations estimates that as many as 48 000 people across the country have been displaced by flooding, which typically happens in lowland areas when rains during the June-September rainy season drench Ethiopia's highlands.

Land cultivation, deforestation and overgrazing have exacerbated the flooding, aid agencies say.