According to local authorities, the Omo River overflowed due to heavy rains, displacing 79,000 persons from the Dassenech Woreda in the South Omo Zone and causing extensive flooding.
The administrator of the Dassenech Woreda, Tadese Hate, stated that the river burst its banks and took a different path, flooding the neighboring areas.
“The overflowing river this week has once again forced the residents to leave their homes. They were previously displaced by a similar flood in 2023,” Tadese said to local media.
The administrator voiced worries that if the water levels are not appropriately controlled, the zone’s administrative center, Omorate, would flood as a result of the ongoing severe rains.
The Ethiopian Meteorological Institute issued a weather notice on August 13th, alerting people to the possibility of flash floods and river flooding as a result of anticipated rainfall across multiple river basins. This is the backdrop in which the flooding is taking place.
The impacted households are receiving emergency aid, but Tadese urged the federal government to step in and find a long-term solution to the area’s ongoing flood problem.
Similar flooding disasters have reportedly happened in other parts of the nation. Heavy rains in the Silte Zone of the Central Ethiopia Region have caused almost 2,300 animals to be relocated inside the Silti woreda, 1,650 persons to be displaced, and 300 hectares of crops to be destroyed.
