229 dead in landslides after heavy rains in Ethiopia

International Desk: At least 229 people have been buried under the ground after heavy rains in Ethiopia. Many more are missing. An operation is underway to rescue them.  According to a report by Al Jazeera, a landslide occurred in Kencho-Shacha area, a remote area of ​​Ethiopia's southern Gofa zone on Monday (July 22) following heavy rains. Gofa is about 320 kilometers (199 mi) southwest of the capital, Addis Ababa.

Authorities said on Tuesday (July 23) that the first round of landslides occurred on Monday. At this time, many were buried under the mud. Residents came forward to help them. Then the second round of landslides occurred. Again, many people are overwhelmed by this.   At least 229 people have died in the landslide so far, the local communications department said in a statement. Among them 148 are men and 81 are women. Alemayehu Baodi, a spokesman, said the search and rescue operation was continuing. State-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) earlier reported that five people were rescued alive from the mud and were being treated.

Most of the dead went to help residents of a house hit by a landslide, Reuters reported, quoting local administrator Dagemawi Oil.   EBC quoted Dagemawi as saying that those who rushed to save lives died in the disaster. These include local administrators, teachers, health workers and agricultural professionals. Member of Parliament Kamal Hashi Mohamud said that the second landslide happened a few minutes after the first one. "People are providing shelter and food to the victims," ​​he said.

In a picture shared by the local media Fana Broadcasting Corporation, it can be seen that local people are trying to rescue the trapped people by moving the soil by hand after the landslide. According to the United Nations, the low monsoon rains between April and May this year caused floods and mass displacement in the state of the country. . The floods affected more than 19,000 people in various regions, displaced more than 1,000 people and damaged livelihoods and infrastructure.

Landslides have occurred in the southern part of Ethiopia before. At least 32 people were killed in two separate incidents within a week of 2018. According to a UN report, millions of people in the country are facing malnutrition due to recent climate related challenges.