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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