Government urges measures to avoid flood damage

The Ethiopian government has called for an early warning system to help avoid catastrophic floods that claim hundreds of lives each year. Mesfin Tegene, the deputy minister of water resources, told IRIN that an area similar to the size of the Netherlands is severely damaged each year. "This is of great concern to the Ethiopian government," said Mesfin who is a civil engineer specialising in water engineering. "As far as water resources are concerned this is one of the most important issues that Ethiopia must address." "This is a very costly problem," he went on. "The main reason for an early warning system is to protect the lives of people. The second is to protect this area as many investors in the country are currently settling there." He said the flooding mainly occurs in the Awash basin – which starts around 100 kilometres west of the capital Addis Ababa and stretches all the way to Djibouti. The damage is mainly in the Afar region of Ethiopia and to the communities who live along the banks of the river. The flooding – which usually happens between June and August – also causes immeasurable damage to agricultural land and infrastructure as well as leaving hundreds homeless. Mesfin estimates that each year 600,000 Ethiopian Birr – around US $75,000 – is caused in damage to farmland alone. In 1999 it was so severe that the military was called in to help – using helicopters to rescue survivors from the region and help relocate them. Mesfin, who joined the Ministry of Water Resources over 17 years ago, said it was imperative that further studies are carried out to prevent widespread flood damage in Ethiopia. "One of the 12 river basins in Ethiopia is the Awash and we have major problems with that river," he said. "It often changes its course and causes severe flooding to farm land almost every year." He said Awash was also a major agricultural area with funding pouring in from the African Development Bank to develop cotton growing. But the flooding was damaging crops and could drive investors away. "This kind of investment needs to be protected," he stressed. Mesfin explained that very little damage occurs in the 11 other river basins in Ethiopia because the rivers are usually surrounded by gorges and few people live on the water’s edge. The African Development Bank is also on the brink of approving a grant to carry out a comprehensive study to "mitigate" the problem of flooding. The research is expected to start in six months. Mesfin’s appeal came as a five-day national training workshop opened in Ethiopia called to discuss famine early warning and flood risk monitoring. Experts have been drawn from all sectors dealing with water including two from the United States. The workshop is believed to be the first of its kind in Africa. Experts are trying to set up a model to understand why the Awash River changes course and what can be done to prevent floods. The minister, in a keynote speech to the workshop on its opening day on Tuesday, said the skills of professionals working in the water sector needed to be enhanced through international cooperation. The workshop was organised by the Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission along with the United States Geological Survey Famine Early Warning System Network and the Ministry of Water Resources.