More than 1,000 rescued after flooding

More than 1,000 people had been rescued from flooded villages in the southern part of Ethiopia, which had resulted in the death of a 12-year-old boy, according to an official. Shewangzaw Worku, the spokesman for the Oromia Food Security and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission, told IRIN on Friday that in the past three days, 1,275 people had been evacuated from three villages and relocated to safe areas after the Awash River flooded. Worku said that since the operation began on Wednesday, rescuers had used 13 boats and emergency personnel from the Ethiopian defence force to help the stranded villagers. "The people are being transferred to safe areas of the nearby villages where they are getting food assistance. There are still thousands of people who refused to be transferred because they did not want to leave their houses and properties," Worku said. People whose houses were in good condition would not be moved out of the area. "There are people whose houses are totally destroyed and they are unable to sleep and undertake their day-to-day activities. We are giving priority to those," Worku added. The worst-hit areas are in Sabata Awas and Ejere districts where about 2,285 people live. "The operation to evacuate the remaining people from these two districts will continue in the coming days. There are also about 8,800 people in Ilu district who are getting food assistant without the need to transfer them to another area," Worku added. A number of livestock have also died in the flooding. The Ethiopian Ministry of Water Resource, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Health as well as the Oromia regional government are jointly participating in the rescue operation. dt/mw/eo