UN Says Floods Affect 100,000 Ethiopians
Date: 29-Aug-07
Country: ETHIOPIA
"Approximately 103,000 people in Amhara, Tigray, South Sudan
Nations and Nationalities Peoples State and Gambella regions
have been affected by floods," the UN humanitarian agency OCHA
said in a report following days of heavy rains.
Seventeen people died of acute diarrhoea, it said.
Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, was continuing to
rise, the report added, increasing the risk of more floods.
Ethiopian authorities have yet to comment on the impact of
the latest floods, but OCHA said the government had sent 1,121
tonnes of food aid for 60,000 people in the worst-hit areas.
The United Nations estimates up to 900 Ethiopians died last
year when several rivers burst their banks. Flash floods
typically happen in lowland areas of the country after heavy
rains drench the highlands during the June-Sept rainy season.