A plane carrying aid to southern Ethiopia in the wake of landslides caused by heavy rainfall, which resulted in loss of life and severe damage to property has been dispatched by the UAE on Saturday, July 27.
Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, highlighted that these contributions underline the country’s constant endeavors that seek to extend a helping hand to impacted communities across the globe.
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The landslide that struck Ethiopia is the deadliest on record in the country, Africa’s second most populous nation which is often battered by climate-related disasters.
The death toll from landslides has risen to 257, the United Nations said on Thursday, warning that the number of victims could soar to 500.
More than 21 million people or about 18 per cent of the population rely on humanitarian aid in Ethiopia as a result of conflict and natural disasters such as flooding and drought.
UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said earlier this week that that a similar but lower-scale landslide struck in May in the same area, killing more than 50 people.
Seasonal rains in South Ethiopia state between April and early May had caused flooding, mass displacement and damage to livelihoods and infrastructure, it had said in May.
In 2017, at least 113 people died when a mountain of garbage collapsed in a dump on the outskirts of Addis Ababa.
The deadliest landslide in Africa was in Sierra Leone’s capital in Freetown in August 2017, when 1,141 people perished.
Mudslides in the Mount Elgon region of eastern Uganda killed more than 350 people in February 2010.
(With inputs from AFP)