Ethiopian Official Reports 229 Deaths from Landslides in the South Following Heavy Rain
An Ethiopian official has reported that 229 people have died due to landslides in the southern part of the country after heavy rainfall. The death toll from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has reached 229 and may increase as the search for survivors and casualties continues for a second day, according to a government official.
The first landslide, caused by heavy rain, buried people in the Gofa zone of Southern Ethiopia’s regional state on Sunday night. A second landslide then engulfed those who had gathered to help on Monday morning.
“I don’t know when it will stop. We are still recovering bodies,” Markos Melese, head of the National Disaster Response agency in Gofa Zone, told Reuters. “We are still digging.”
An official announced on Monday that at least 50 people, including children and police officers, had died.
Footage shared by the local administration showed people using shovels and bare hands to dig up bodies. “The death toll surged after the people who came to rescue also got trapped,” said Gofa district administrator Misikir Mitiku. “It is a very sad incident.”
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed deep sorrow over the tragic loss of life and mentioned that federal officials had been deployed to mitigate the disaster’s impact.
“We stand in strong solidarity with the people and government of Ethiopia as rescue efforts continue to find the missing and assist the displaced,” African Union chair Moussa Faki Mahamat posted on social media platform X.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization and an Ethiopian, said he was thinking of all the affected families and noted that a WHO team had been dispatched to support immediate health needs.
