ADDIS ABABA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Thursday warned that the death toll of landslides in southern Ethiopia could reach as high as 500 amid ongoing emergency response and search operations.
The UNOCHA, in its latest situation update issued Thursday citing local authorities, said the death toll has risen to 257 as of Wednesday as more and more dead bodies are retrieved from under the mud.
Noting that an inter-agency humanitarian assessment team has reached the area and is currently supporting response coordination through the established emergency coordination center, the UNOCHA warned that "the death toll is expected to rise to up to 500 people."
According to local authorities, the first landslide occurred Sunday night after hours of heavy rains in a small village called Kencho Shacha Gozdi in the southern Ethiopia's Geze Gofa District.
The second landslide happened Monday morning and buried an unknown number of local community members who gathered at the scene for rescue efforts.
Among the casualties were children and women as well as security personnel and local government officials who were undertaking rescue operations, according to local officials.
Search and rescue operations are currently ongoing under the leadership of local authorities with the support from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and community members, who are "mainly digging through mounds of mud with their bare hands and spades for lack of other options."
At least 125 people are displaced and currently sheltering with the host communities, while 12 people who sustained injuries were taken to nearby health facilities, according to the UNOCHA.
Noting that more than 15,500 people have been affected by the landslide as of Wednesday, the UNOCHA warned over further catastrophe endangering the affected community members.
"These people are at high risk of further landslides and need to be evacuated to safe zones immediately," it said, noting that among the affected people are at least 1,320 children under 5 years of age and 5,293 pregnant and lactating women.
The Ethiopian federal government, in collaboration with regional and zonal authorities, is currently finalizing an evacuation plan as part of precautionary measures to avert further tragedies.
The deadly landslides occurred as Ethiopia is in the midst of a rainy season, which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September.
Last month, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, warned of above-normal rainfall in parts of Ethiopia and across the wider Horn of Africa, triggering floods and landslides during the coming months.
In Ethiopia, IGAD, through its Climate Prediction and Applications Center, warned of anticipated flash floods that could trigger landslides, which would result in human and livestock deaths, property damage, displacement and water-borne diseases, affecting more than 2.5 million people across Ethiopia. ■
