The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) stated on Thursday (July 25) that the death toll from two landslides in southern Ethiopia has risen to 257 people, with projections indicating that this number could nearly double. This marks the most severe landslide incident ever recorded in Ethiopia.
According to media reports, last Sunday evening (July 21), heavy rainfall triggered severe landslides in the remote Gofa Zone in southern Ethiopia, leading to a large number of people being buried. Another landslide on Monday morning (July 22) engulfed rescue workers who were present at the scene.
In a report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated, “Based on information provided by the local government, the expected death toll is set to rise to 500 people.”
The agency also mentioned that due to the risk of further landslides in the area, over 15,000 individuals require urgent evacuation. The Ethiopian Red Cross and regional health authorities have dispatched multiple vehicles carrying rescue and medical supplies to the affected area.
Dagmawi Ayele, the administrator of the Gofa Zone, informed Reuters that as of now, rescuers have recovered 226 bodies of victims, and local residents have held funerals for them. Currently, rescue personnel and volunteers are still searching the muddy disaster site for survivors and victims’ remains.