Twin landslides in Ethiopia claim over 200 lives

At least 229 people have been killed in two landslides in southern Ethiopia earlier this week, according to authorities.
Heavy rains triggered the first landslide in a remote region of the Gofa zone on July 22, following the second one which buried people who had gathered to help.

Reportedly, the second landslide happened a few minutes after the first. At least 148 men and 81 women were killed after the disaster struck in the Kencho-Shacha locality in the Gofa Zone, the local Communications Affairs Department said in a statement.

Alemayehu Bawdi, Southern Regional State representative, confirmed the death toll and said “search and rescue efforts are ongoing”, reported Al-Jazeera.

As many as five people were rescued from the mud and were admitted to a medical facility for treatment, the government-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported earlier.

According to a local administrator Dagemawi Ayele, most of those killed were buried after they went to help the inhabitants of a house hit by an initial landslide.

“Those who rushed for live-saving work have perished in the disaster including the locality’s administrator, teachers, health professionals and agricultural professionals,” EBC quoted Dagemawi as saying.

Gofa is located about 320 km southwest of the capital, Addis Ababa and is a part of the state known as the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR).

The state-affiliated media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate shared grim images which showed hundreds of people trying to dig through the dirt using their hands.

Earlier, Ethiopia was severely hit by the short seasonal rains between April and May causing flooding and mass displacement, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"The floods impacted over 19,000 people in several zones, displacing over a thousand and causing damage to livelihoods and infrastructure," it said.

Millions in the country face malnutrition due to recent climate-related challenges, the UN reported.