10,000 homeless in flood-hit eastern town

At least 10,000 people have lost their homes in the eastern Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa after a flash flood hit the area, killing hundreds, officials said on Tuesday. "The city administration has so far registered more than 10,000 [homeless people]," said Getachew Asres, Dire Dawa city administration police commander. "They are temporarily sheltered in schools and tents and getting food and other necessary support." More than 300 people are still unaccounted for after 197 bodies were recovered. The search for more bodies was continuing on Tuesday. "Most of the homeless people lost their houses and family members to the flood," Getachew added. The Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi visited the area on Monday and said the government would send more emergency food assistance and shelter to those who were made homeless. Heavy rains in Dire Dawa, 525 km east of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, caused the Dechatu river to burst its banks, prompting flood waters to hit the country's second-largest city. Many of the dead, including 40 children, drowned because they were sleeping. The city was also dark because the electricity supply was off. The police warned that the risk of flooding was still high because heavy rains were falling in the highland areas outside the city. Meanwhile, another flood induced by heavy rainfall in the Kombolcha district of East Harrarghe zone, 400 km east of Addis Ababa, has destroyed more than 100 homes, the police said. The four-hour downpour that occurred on Monday night displaced 500 people. The rainfall caused a landslide in Jarso Woreda, blocking the road that connects the zone with Harar town and Kombolcha, said Seyoum Degefu, the zonal police spokesman. Flooding in southern and eastern Ethiopia is a frequent occurrence, and according to weather experts, occurs due to unseasonal heavy rains in the highlands that flow into the lowland areas. dt/mw/eo