Floods in Ethiopia Displace 20,000+ People

Officials in Ethiopia said that heavy flooding has displaced some 20,000 people from their homes.

AP quoted an official in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region saying: “The flooding has caused damages to properties and killed several dozens of animals.”

Speaking to the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate, Kulsuma Burhaba Ali, deputy head of the region’s disaster prevention department said: “The flooding was caused as the Awash River overflows and affected 10 out of 17 counties in the region.”

No deaths have been reported so far.

The official said an additional 51,000 people are in danger, but efforts are underway including airlifts by Ethiopia’s military.

Ethiopia’s Afar region is known to be mostly inhabited by nomadic herders and is home to the Danakil Depression, a popular tourist area that has been called the hottest place on Earth.

Ethiopia is witnessing an ongoing dispute with Egypt and Sudan over its project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Few days ago, Sudan and Egypt announced rejection of an Ethiopian proposal regarding the filling and operation of the GERD.