Death toll from Ethiopia landslide climbs to 257, could reach 500, UN says

The death toll continues to climb. The death toll from the landslide that occurred on Monday in a hard-to-reach area of ​​southern Ethiopia is now 257 and could reach 500, reported the UN humanitarian agency OCHA in its latest situation report on Thursday, July 25. The number of people missing is currently unknown. This landslide is already the deadliest known in Ethiopia – the second most populous country on the African continent – ​​where more than three-quarters of the 120 million inhabitants live in rural areas.

The previous death toll, released Tuesday evening by local authorities, was 229. The disaster occurred in the kebele (smallest administrative division) of Kencho Shacha Gozdi, a rural and hilly area, more than ten hours’ drive from Addis Ababa, the federal capital. In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, the head of OCHA in Ethiopia, Paul Handley, explained that the delivery of “heavy excavation equipment in the area” touched, “isolated and mountainous”was “a challenge, especially because of the state of the roads”.

The road leading to the disaster site is unpaved for several dozen kilometers. “The Ethiopian government, together with regional and local authorities, is finalizing an evacuation plan” of more than 15,500 people who live in the surrounding areas “carrying a high risk of further landslides and requiring immediate evacuation”continues Ocha. Among them are “at least 1,320 children under five and 5,293 pregnant and breastfeeding women.”