In a remote area of southern Ethiopia the death toll from a landslide has increased to at least 146, according to the media reports. The disaster happened at around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) on Monday following heavy rains in Gofa, a mountainous area of South Ethiopia regional state.
‘The number of dead from the landslide that happened in Geze-Gofa district of Gofa zone has passed 146’, a statement from the Gofa zone Communications Affairs Department said.
Habtamu said the bodies of 96 men and 50 women have been found. He also that the search was continuing vigorously and warning that the number of dead could increase.
The local authority had given a death toll of 55 on Monday but there is information about the disaster due to the remoteness of the region.
Pictures shared on Facebook by the local authority on Monday showed large crowds of people near a scene of tumbled red soil.
The photographs showed people using their bare hands to dig through the dirt in search of survivors, with no sign of official rescue services. Gofa zone is roughly 450 kilometres (270 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, a drive of about 10 hours, and is located north of the Maze National Park.
‘The area of the disaster is rural, remote and very mountainous’, an Ethiopian refugee living in Kenya who said he is from a district neighbouring Geze-Gofa. The soil in that area isn’t strong, so when heavy rains and landslides happen the soil immediately runs down to the ground below.
Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa with around 120 million people, is highly vulnerable to climate disasters, including flooding and drought.
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