UN: Ethiopia landslide death toll could reach up to 500
South Ethiopia has been battered by the short seasonal rains between April and early May that have caused flooding and mass displacement.
A man reacts while after residents and volunteers left for the night after digging in the mud in search for survivors and bodies at the scene of a landslide in Gofa on July 24, 2024. / Photo: AFP
The death toll from a devastating landslide in southern Ethiopia has risen to 257, the United Nations said Thursday, warning it could increase to up to 500.
The disaster occurred on Monday following heavy rains in a tiny community in a mountainous area of South Ethiopia regional state. The last toll, given by the local authority on Tuesday, was 229.
"The death toll has risen to 257," as of July 24, the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA said in statement on Thursday, citing local authorities.
"The death toll is expected to rise to up to 500 people," it said.
15,000 need to evacuate
At the scene in Kencho Shacha Gozdi, hundreds of people combed through the sodden red mud as they searched for survivors of the deadliest landslide recorded in Africa's second most populous country.
"More than 15,000 affected people need to be evacuated," OCHA said, including at least 1,320 children, as well as 5,293 pregnant women and new mothers.
South Ethiopia has been battered by the short seasonal rains between April and early May that have caused flooding and mass displacement, according to OCHA.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.