Ethiopia: More than 1,320 children remain at risk following week of deadly landslides

Toronto, July 26, 2024 – Hundreds of children living in the remote Gofa zone of Southern Ethiopia remain at risk of death and injury from rain-induced disasters, after surviving a series of landslides that killed at least 257 people, said Save the Children.

On Sunday, heavy rains in the area caused a major landslide which buried hundreds of people, including children, and on Monday a second landslide buried those searching for them. More than 15,000 people live in the immediate vicinity of the disasters, including at least 1,320 children under 5 years of age and nearly 5,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to the UN.

Save the Children is working with local partners to roll out much-needed aid to communities impacted by the landslides, as search and rescue efforts intensify.  The response includes trucking in drinkable water, providing water purifying chemicals, setting up urgent health care and nutrition services, and building latrines. The aid agencies will also provide cash assistance and psychosocial support to affected families.

In Southern Ethiopia, landslides are common during the rainy season and are known to cause devastating disasters, leading to deaths, injuries and widespread displacement. But this year’s rainy season comes after a particularly unseasonable dry season, in which heavy rains and flooding linked to a combination of the El Nino phenomenon and human-induced climate change, have devastated communities.

At least 600,000 children across the Horn of Africa have been affected by flooding so far this year, leading to homelessness, and spikes in diseases such as cholera.

Save the Children’s Country Director for Ethiopia, Dragana Strinic said:

“This week has brought horror upon horror for children in Ethiopia’s Geza Gofa district. It is near impossible to try to conceive of the terror they must have been feeling as mud and earth came crashing down into their homes and swept away their communities.

“We now need to support the local community in its rescue mission and to look after survivors who have lost everything: their homes, livelihoods and food sources, access to clean water. This is a stark example of the devastation extreme weather events can bring to children and their communities, particularly those already affected by poverty.”  

Save the Children has been operating in Ethiopia for over 60 years. The organisation focuses on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, protection services, education and cash and in-kind distributions. Since the beginning of this year, Save the Children has reached about 1.35 million people including over 840,000 children through life-saving food, water distribution, and treatment for malnutrition.

ENDS