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Flooding displaces thousands in Ethiopia

Men evacuate belongings, family and livestock from Bambiko village, near Lake Tana, Ethiopia, One September 2006. At least 630 people have died from the floods. According to UNICEF, families are facing multiple displacements as the river levels rise due t IRIN
Men evacuate belongings, family and livestock from Bambiko village, near Lake Tana, Ethiopia
    ADDIS ABABA

    Heavy flooding in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia has displaced more than 8,000 people, say officials.



    The floods hit the districts of Dawa Chefa and Hartuma Fursi and  Kemise Town after three days of torrential rain, according to the zonal disaster and food security coordination office, which also reported an urgent need for tents to shelter the displaced. Nineteen people are reported to have died.*



    Some 53,237 households in Oromiya, South Wollo, North Wollo, South Gondar, North Gondar and North Shoa zones in Amhara have been affected, with 1,960 households temporarily displaced, stated a 23 August update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It warned of the risk of flooding in western, southwestern and central parts of Ethiopia in September.



    Crops planted on about 6,132ha of land have also either been inundated or washed away, requiring replanting in some cases, added the Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector, which on 18 August issued a flood alert for the remainder of the kiremt (June-September) rainy season.



    tn/aw/am/mw



    *UPDATE: [Local officials told IRIN on 15 September that the death toll was only three people.]

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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