News: UN expects death toll from Gofa landslide to rise up to 500, 257 bodies retrieved so far

Addis Abeba – The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the death toll from the landslide that struck the Gofa zone in South Ethiopia region has reached 257 as of Thursday, 24 July 2024.

According to the office, search and rescue operations are still ongoing under the leadership of local authorities with the support from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and community members – mainly digging through mounds of mud with their bare hands and spades for lack of other options, and local officials expect the death toll to rise to up to 500 people.

In its second flash update report since the incident on Monday this week, the UNOCHA said more than 15,000 people, including at least 1,320 children under 5 years of age and 5,293 pregnant and lactating women, are at high risk of further landslides and need to be evacuated to safe zones immediately. The federal government, in collaboration with regional and zonal authorities, is finalizing an evacuation plan, it added.

Furthermore, it stated that a UN inter-agency humanitarian assessment team has reached the area and is currently supporting response coordination through the established Emergency Coordination Center. The Ethiopian Red Cross arrived in the area on Wednesday with four trucks of life-saving supplies, OCHA added.

On Wednesday, the federal government’s communication ministry stated that relief supplies worth 5.7 million birr have been distributed to more than 3000 people affected by the landslide. 

Adanech Abiebie, mayor of Addis Abeba city also disclosed on Thursday morning that the city administration dispatched humanitarian support worth 45 million birr to the area.

On Tuesday, local officials reported 229 people, 148 men and 81 women, were among the confirmed victims. They include teachers, health and agricultural experts, and the administrator of the local kebele, who had arrived at the scene to assist with rescue efforts.

“We saw before our eyes as the ground collapsed…”

Yealem Merheneh, head of the Gofa district communication office, and an eyewitness, recounted how the incident unfolded. 

In an interview with Addis Standard, he described the situation as “very dire” and said he had never “encountered or heard of” such an incident. He explained that a second landslide occurred while initial rescue efforts were underway.

“We arrived at the scene with communication experts upon hearing of the initial disaster. There were many locals and people from other areas gathered to provide assistance. Suddenly, at 9:30 AM, we heard an explosive noise. The ground unexpectedly collapsed, burying everyone present who had gathered to provide assistance,” Yealem stated.

Recounting how his life was saved, Yealem said, “We heard a very loud noise while observing from a short distance. The word ‘loud’ doesn’t fully describe it. We saw before our eyes as the ground collapsed on all those people who came to rescue.”

He reported that local officials, including the district administrator, deputy administrator, and political affairs head, were present during the incident but managed to avoid the landslide. AS