Twin Ethiopia Landslides Kill Over 200
At least 229 people have died after two landslides, triggered by heavy rains, occurred in quick succession in southern Ethiopia....
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Facts
- At least 229 people have died after two landslides, triggered by heavy rains, occurred in quick succession in southern Ethiopia.1
- A landslide buried people in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia on Sunday evening, while a second trapped people as rescue operations were ongoing on Monday morning.2
- Footage of the scene showed people digging up the mud using bare hands and shovels to retrieve the deceased.3
- Five people have reportedly been pulled alive from the site of the disaster and are reportedly being treated at local hospitals.4
- According to Ethiopia's National Disaster Response Agency, the death toll is likely to rise as 'the area is very challenging.' The victims include children and pregnant women.5
- Landslides are common during Ethiopia's rainy season. Last year, heavy rains, floods, and landslides affected more than 760K people and killed 43 across the country.6
Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2CBS, 3Reuters, 4Modernghana, 5NBC and 6ReliefWeb.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by Ethiopia. Southern Ethiopia is prone to the cascading effects of landslides because it's primarily a rural and mountainous region battered by malnutrition, a lack of clean water, disease outbreaks, economic hardships, and armed conflict. The country needs urgent funding to respond to natural or man-made disasters and build its capabilities.
- Narrative B, as provided by Dw.Com. Though this disaster occurred due to heavy rains, it will reoccur if Ethiopia doesn't adapt to its root cause — global warming and climate change, which make extreme rainfall more likely. It's crucial for the government to take action, make steep cuts to emissions, and pursue climate adaptation policies to avoid another catastrophe.
