ETHIOPIA: Flash floods kill 190 in the east
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© IRIN The floods hit the city when residents were asleep. ADDIS ABABA, 7 Aug 2006 (IRIN) - More than 190 people have been confirmed dead after heavy rains in Dire Dawa, 525 km east of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, caused the Dechatu river to burst its banks, the police said on Monday. It was feared more bodies would be recovered.
The flood waters also washed away hundreds of homes as they swept through Ethiopia's second largest city after midnight. Many of the dead, including 40 children, drowned because they were sleeping. The city was also dark because the electricity supply was off.
"The bodies of the 101 residents, which were washed away by the floods, have been recovered by a joint army and civilians rescue operation," police inspector Biniam Fikru told IRIN. A road was washed away along with a number of cars.
Ninety-four injured people, who had been taken to the hospital, returned to their homes after receiving treatment. Of the six who had been admitted, two died.
The police warned that the risk of flooding was still high because heavy rains were falling in the highland areas outside the city. The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) dispatched some aid to those affected on Sunday. Sisay Tadesse, a DPPA public relations officer, said it had distributed food, water containers, household items and plastic sheets for shelter.
"The agency estimates that more than 10,000 people have been affected," Sisay said. A rapid disaster assessment team, he added, would arrive on Monday at Dire Dawa to evaluate the situation.
In the meantime, local authorities had established six emergency crisis committees to deal with the problem in different parts of the town.
Flooding in southern and eastern Ethiopia is a frequent occurrence. Last week, more than 1,000 people were rescued from flooded villages in the south. A 12-year-old boy was killed, Shewangzaw Worku, spokesman for the Oromia Food Security and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission, said on Friday.
In April last year, flooding killed 155 people in eastern Ethiopia's Somali region. A month later, flash floods killed 45 people in Dire Dawa.
The floods, according to Ethiopian weather experts, occur due to unseasonal heavy rains in the Ethiopian highlands that flow into the lowland areas. Dire Dawa is 3,000 feet above sea level.
dt/mw/eo [ENDS]
Theme(s) Natural Disasters
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At least 190 people have been confirmed dead after heavy rains caused a river to burst its banks in the eastern Ethiopian city of . A further 300 are reported missing. 

Rescuers have been digging all weekend with just hand tools and garden equipment, although  have also been used to shift tons of mud. Disaster management teams are expected to reach the city today. 

The  flooded on Saturday night after exceptionally heavy rains. Over 200 homes were destroyed and many died instantly as their houses were swept away as they slept. Of the confirmed dead so far, nearly 40 were children. 

94 people injured in the immediate aftermath were treated in hospital before returning to the remains of their homes.

Regional police inspector Beniam Fikru said that some of the dead were already being buried, but identifying bodies was difficult. “Relatives are reporting that 300 people are missing,” he said, “but the search goes on.” 

Dire Dawa, 500km east of the capital Addis Ababa, is the country’s second largest city. While the death toll is expected to rise, over 15,000 people had been displaced from the city’s 250,000-strong population. On Friday, over 1,000 people were rescued from villages as rains swept through the south of the country. 

Flooding is a regular occurrence in the June-August rainy season and Dire Dawa has been struck before. 45 people were killed in the city in flash floods last summer, some reportedly by crocodiles in the floodwaters.