ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopian officials said on Tuesday they expected to see a rise in the death toll of 197 people from floods in an eastern town at the weekend as they continue operations to recover bodies and clear debris.
Some 300 people are still missing after the Dechatu river burst its banks on Saturday night and devastated Dire Dawa town, located 525 km (326 miles) east of the capital Addis Ababa.
Teams of police officers and soldiers using bulldozers and shovels have been clearing piles of mud and sand in the area.
“The death toll from the flood that hit Dire Dawa on Saturday stands at 197, but more bodies are expected to be recovered on Tuesday,” police inspector Benyam Fikru told Reuters by telephone from Dire Dawa.
“We have located deep gullies along the course of the river which are filled with sands brought by the flash flood. The rescue teams will dig with the help of bulldozers into the gullies in search of bodies.”
Other teams were busy filling sand bags to avert another flash flood, which typically happens from June to August when heavy rains pour down on Ethiopia’s highlands and wash through lowland areas containing towns like Dire Dawa.
Local businessman Mohamed Nur Ahmed, 40, criticised city officials for failing to build flood defences earlier.
“This is not the first time Dire Dawa was threatened,” he said. “It happened last year and the years before, but not with such ferocious intensity… I hope now they will take urgent action and build protection.”
Source: Reuters, Aug 8, 2006
