Commission delivers support to 600,000 flood affected people

Addis Ababa, September 7, 2020 (FBC) – The National Disaster Risk Management Commission disclosed that the government has been delivering humanitarian support to 600,000 flood affected people in several parts of the country.

Higher officials drawn from Awash Basin Authority, Water Development Commission and Disaster Risk Management Commission along with representatives from Afar Region have visited areas hit by heavy flooding due to overflow from Awash River, it is indicated.

The flooding caused by overflow of the Awash River has wreaked heavy losses to residents and displaced more than 25,000 people in East Shoa Zone Fentale Woreda alone.

The officials visited displaced residents sheltered at camps in Metehara town.

The Awash River overflow has also casused a heavy flooding that caused loss of properties and displacements in Amibara and Haruka Woredas in Afar Regional State.

Overflow of water across the Awash River banks has also posed a threat connected to flooding, the commission stated.

Relocation activities backed by helicopter and boats are being carried to rescue affected citizens in risk potential areas.

The commission forecasted that additional two Million People in various areas will be impacted by flooding and more than 400 thousand people face risk of displacement due to the continued heavy rain, the Disaster Risk Management Commissioner Damena Darota stressed.

Flooding has affected 588,000 citizens and displaced 220,000 residents in various part of the nation, he added.