Tragic Landslide in Ethiopia Claims Over 150 Lives

Tragic Landslide in Southwestern Ethiopia Claims Over 150 Lives

In a devastating incident on Monday, a landslide in a village in southwestern Ethiopia resulted in the deaths of more than 150 individuals. The disaster struck after days of heavy rainfall, which caused several homes to be engulfed by mud. Those who rushed to assist in the rescue efforts were themselves caught in a subsequent landslide about an hour later.

The first landslide hit the village in the Geze district between 8:30 and 9 a.m. on Monday, according to Habtamu Fetena, the head of the local government’s emergency response team. Nearly 300 residents from two nearby villages flocked to the scene to lend a helping hand, digging through the mud with their bare hands in a desperate search for survivors.

Tragically, just an hour later, without any warning, a second wave of mud cascaded down the hillside, burying many of those who were attempting to rescue their neighbors. “They had no clue that the ground beneath them was about to collapse,” Mr. Fetena lamented.

The initial landslide claimed entire families as mud surged down the slope, while the second landslide took the lives of numerous individuals, including teachers and healthcare workers. Notably, the local administrative leader was also among the deceased, having rushed to the scene to aid in the rescue efforts. Although most of the casualties were men, pregnant women and children were also tragically affected, according to Mr. Fetena.

A man is seen using his hands to search for survivors and victims in the aftermath of the landslide.

The death toll is anticipated to rise as rescue teams continue to pull victims from the mud. As of Tuesday afternoon, only ten individuals had been rescued alive from the debris, officials reported.

This largely rural region had been battered by days of heavy rain, which not only hampered rescue efforts but also saturated the ground, leading to multiple landslides. The affected village is located in an area that is increasingly susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change. In recent years, East Africa has faced increasingly severe weather patterns, including prolonged droughts followed by intense storms, as highlighted by the United Nations. Alarmingly, a third of the countries deemed most vulnerable to climate change are situated in southern and eastern Africa.

The area where the landslides occurred is inaccessible to heavy machinery, forcing villagers and rescue workers to rely on manual labor to dig through the mud. Gripping images from the scene reveal a gaping scar on the hillside where mud had cascaded down, with rescuers knee-deep in mud using hoes, shovels, and even their bare hands to search for the missing.

According to another local administrator, Dagmawi Ayele, the region has faced similar disasters in the past. While some villages were relocated following previous calamities, he noted that landslides are now occurring in areas previously thought to be safe.

A video released by the local government captures the heartbreak of survivors in the aftermath of the catastrophic landslide.