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Ethiopia flood toll hits 206 with 10,000 displaced
Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, Aug 7, 2006 The death toll from weekend flash floods in eastern Ethiopia has hit 206 and is expected to rise, officials said Monday, as rescue workers dug frantically to find hundreds reported missing. While stunned survivors sought comfort from neighbors in this devastated town where more than 10,000 people were made homeless by the overnight Saturday flooding, efforts intensified to locate some 300 people still unaccounted for. "We have been able to recover 206 bodies, and we have also rescued 96 injured people," said an official with Ethiopia's federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission. "Search and rescue operations are still going on, but we expect the death toll to rise," the official told AFP in Dire Dawa, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of Addis Ababa, after flying in to assess the damage and needs. On a visit to the town, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told grieving residents that the government would do all it could to help repair the damage and assist survivors. "It is a sad day to all of us," he said. "We have lost our brothers and sisters. "The Ethiopian government will do everything in its power to bring normal life back to the people of Dire Dawa and to give all needed support to those affected by the disaster," Meles said. At least 39 of the confirmed dead were children under the age of seven, according to regional police commissioner Getachew Asres, and officials said the number of people left homeless had soared from an earlier estimate of 3,000. At least 10,000 people are now without adequate shelter from the floods that hit overnight Saturday when heavy rains burst the banks of two rivers in and around Dire Dawa, killing many people as they slept, officials said. Residents were using their bare hands, hoes, trowels, shovels as well as bulldozers and other earth-moving equipment to dig through sand, mud and rubble in search of bodies or survivors. Others walked aimlessly the streets of the inundated town, wailing in despair as they passed demolished huts, shanties and shops. "I lost my husband and my child, my life is now nothing," said 32-year-old Bezunesh Abegaz. "I don't see any hope or future for me." "I am saved, but I have no idea about the whereabouts of my family or my neighbours," survivor Zahara Ali told AFP. "It was a nightmare for me, it was a miracle I lived, but the nightmare haunts me." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
Sri Lanka offers probe into aid killings
Colombo, Aug 7, 2006 Sri Lanka will order a "clean and independent" investigation into the reported killing of 15 workers of a French charity during fighting in the northeast, the human rights minister told AFP Monday. |
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