Victims Number of Ethiopia’s Landslides Rise to 157 People

The Ethiopian authorities announced Tuesday that the number of victims of landslides that struck the south of the country has risen to 157 people, after more than a hundred new victims were recovered. Governor of the southern Ethiopian region Talahun Kebdi, said in a statement that rescue crews recovered 102 victims from under the rubble in the Gofa area, noting that efforts to search for other missing persons and support those affected and displaced people were continuing. On Monday, the local authorities announced the death of 55 people in these landslides, and it was likely that the toll would increase after dozens of missing people were reported. Pictures published by the state-owned Fana Broadcasting Corporation media network on its Facebook page showed hundreds of people near piles of upturned red dirt in the Gofa administrative region, about 450 kilometers from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and people digging with their hands in the dirt searching for survivors. The southern regions of Ethiop ia are exposed annually, during the period between April and May, to seasonal rains, which often cause floods and the displacement of large numbers of people. Source: Qatar News Agency