An Ethiopian refugee living in Kenya who is from a district near the disaster site described the area as rural, remote, and very mountainous, with weak soil that runs down to the ground below during heavy rains and landslides. He noted that similar disasters have occurred in the past, with more than 20 people killed last year and people dying almost every rainy season due to landslides and heavy rains in the area.The South Ethiopia state had already been affected by seasonal rains between April and early May, causing flooding and mass displacement, according to the UN's humanitarian response agency OCHA. In May, floods affected more than 19,000 people in several zones, displacing over 1,000 and causing damage to livelihoods and infrastructure.Previous landslides in Ethiopia include a 2016 incident in Wolaita, South Ethiopia, where 41 people were killed following heavy rains, and a 2017 disaster in the outskirts of Addis Ababa, where 113 people died when a mountain of garbage collapsed in a dump. The deadliest landslide in Africa occurred in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, in August 2017, claiming 1,141 lives. In February 2010, mudslides in the Mount Elgon region of eastern Uganda killed more than 350 people.

Source: Ethiopian News July 23, 2024 17:45 UTC