Thousands homeless as aid reaches flood-affected areas

Relief aid has begun to reach survivors of devastating floods that hit eastern Ethiopia, but the death toll could rise further without more help, officials said on Wednesday. Some plastic sheeting and high-energy biscuits had arrived in the region, but rescuers had been unable to get to all the survivors, Ahmed Abdi, from the UN’s World Food Programme, told IRIN from Gode, one of the worst-affected areas. Many parts of the region still remained cut off, he said. Thousands were left homeless after flood waters crashed into 40 villages in Somali region at the weekend, sweeping families away, officials added. "This is a catastrophe," Muktar Mohammed Seyyid, government relief coordinator, told IRIN. "If we don’t take action I am afraid the death toll will increase." The toll had risen to 82 dead with 30 people still missing, although Muktar said those figures could change. The floods, he added, had affected about 30,000 people, and at least 5,000 families had been left homeless. "We need boats, we need helicopters, and we need food and plastic sheeting," Muktar added. "Floods have not only led to deaths and displacement but also to extensive damage to property and farmland," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement released on Tuesday. "The current needs include food, shelter, blankets and utensils and medical care due to the potential increase of cases of malaria and waterborne diseases," it added. The Wabe Shebelle stretches for over 1,340 km and is Ethiopia’s largest river, with a water catchment area of 200,000 km. It burst its banks on Saturday after two days of heavy rains. Flood waters swept over 10 km, forcing survivors to flee their homes to the safety of higher ground. Heavy rains and floods also hit Hargeysa, the capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, washing away one of the two bridges in the southwestern part of the city. More than 500 families, among them elderly women and children, were displaced, Abdillahi Irro, mayor of Hargeysa told IRIN on Tuesday. Some 270 families were relocated to a camp belonging to the Somaliland police force. Muktar said if the current heavy rains continued in Ethiopia – and forecasters expected thunderstorms would continue into the weekend – further deaths could result from flooding. At this time of the year, flooding usually occurs in Ethiopia's Somali region, and the waters are used to regenerate soil for pasture. In the last major floods in 2003, 119 people were killed.