ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — A landslide triggered by heavy rains in the Wolaita region of southern Ethiopia has killed at least 13 people and the death toll is expected to rise, a local official said Monday.
Samuel Fola, Wolaita Zonal Chief Administrator, said more than 300 people have been evacuated from the area in Kindo Didaye district and the number of missing is still unknown.
“There are also children among the dead,” Fola said. “We have now evacuated more than 300 people as a precaution and in anticipation of another major landslide.”
According to the regional government, a rescue operation is underway in the Wolaita area.
Monday’s landslide appeared to be less deadly than a landslide that struck another area in southern Ethiopia last month, which killed more than 200 people.
Landslides are common during the rainy season in Ethiopia, which begins in July and is expected to last until mid-September.
The mountainous areas of Wolaita are vulnerable to these types of accidents because there is little infrastructure.
In 2016, more than 41 people were killed and hundreds displaced in the same area after heavy rains triggered a deadly mudslide.
Last month, a major mudslide occurred in neighboring Gamo Gofa claimed the lives of more than 229 peopleAccording to the United Nations Human Rights Office (OCHA), the death toll could rise to as many as 500.
Deadly mudslides are common across the wider East African region, from mountainous eastern Uganda to the highlands of central Kenya. In April, at least 45 people were killed in Kenya’s Rift Valley, where flash floods and a landslide swept away homes and closed a major road.
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