The death toll from a devastating landslide in southern Ethiopia has climbed to at least 146, local officials reported on Tuesday.
The disaster struck the Gofa zone, a mountainous area in the South Ethiopia regional state, following heavy rains at around 10:00 am local time on Monday.
According to a statement from the Gofa zone Communications Affairs Department, local official Habtamu Fetena confirmed the rising death toll. He revealed that search teams have recovered the bodies of 96 men and 50 women, warning that the number could still increase as the search continues "vigorously."
The local authority reported 55 deaths on Monday, but information remains scarce due to the region's remoteness. Images shared on Facebook by local authorities show large crowds gathered around a scene of red soil devastation.
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People were seen using their bare hands to dig through the dirt, searching for survivors, with no visible presence of official rescue services.
Gofa zone, situated approximately 450 kilometers (270 miles) from Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, lies north of Maze National Park. An Ethiopian refugee in Kenya, originally from a neighboring district, described the area as rural, remote, and highly susceptible to landslides due to weak soil.
Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country with around 120 million people, is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters, including flooding and drought. The South Ethiopia regional state has recently experienced heavy rains between April and early May, causing significant flooding and mass displacement.
In May, the UN's humanitarian response agency, OCHA, reported that floods had impacted over 19,000 people in several zones, displaced over a thousand, and damaged livelihoods and infrastructure.
This region has a tragic history of landslides. In 2018, at least 32 people were killed in two separate landslides within a week.
