On Sunday, heavy rains caused a landslide in a village perched high on a mountain in the remote Gofa zone in southern Ethiopia. Gofa is part of the state known as Southern Ethiopia, located around 320km (199 miles) south-west of the capital, Addis Ababa. This has led to significant loss of life, displacement of communities, and widespread destruction of property and infrastructure.
These natural disasters underscore the vulnerability of the country’s mountainous and hilly terrains to extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change and environmental degradation. The primary trigger for this was the period of unusually heavy and prolonged rainfall. The country’s rainy season typically spans from June to September, but this year, the intensity and duration of the rainfall were unprecedented.
Meteorological data indicated that some regions received up to 200% of their average monthly precipitation within just a few weeks. This excessive rainfall saturated the soil, increasing its weight and reducing its stability, making landslides more likely. Several underlying factors compounded the situation. Deforestation and land degradation have been persistent issues in Ethiopia, driven by agricultural expansion, logging, and the collection of firewood.
The loss of vegetation cover reduces the soil’s ability to absorb water, increasing surface runoff and the risk of landslides. Additionally, poor land management practices, such as farming on steep slopes without adequate terracing, further destabilize the soil. The landslides have had a devastating impact on the affected communities. Reports indicate at least 229 people lost their lives, and hundreds were injured.
Entire villages were buried under mud and debris, with rescue operations hampered by the difficult terrain and continuing adverse weather conditions. Thousands of people were displaced, forced to seek refuge in temporary shelters, often without adequate food, water, and medical supplies. The destruction of infrastructure is extensive. Roads and bridges were washed away, cutting off access to remote areas and complicating relief efforts.
Schools, hospitals, and homes were damaged or destroyed, disrupting education and healthcare services. The agricultural sector, which is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy, was particularly hard-hit. Farmland was buried under landslides, and livestock perished, leading to severe economic losses for farming communities. Beyond the immediate human and infrastructural toll, the landslides have had a significant environmental repercussion.
The movement of large volumes of soil and rock altered the landscape, with new river channels formed and old ones blocked. This can have long-term effects on local ecosystems, including changes in water flow patterns, which can affect both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. In the wake of the landslides, the Ethiopian government, along with international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations, launched extensive relief efforts.
Emergency response teams were deployed to the affected areas to search for survivors, provide medical care, and distribute food, water, and shelter materials. However, the scale of the disaster overwhelmed local capacities, highlighting the need for improved disaster preparedness and response mechanisms. The area where the landslides occurred is impossible to reach with heavy machinery, so villagers and rescue workers were forced to dig by hand.
Images from the scene showed a gash in the green hillside where the mud slid down, with rescue workers, knee-deep in the mud, using hoes and shovels or their bare hands to search for victims. As immediate relief efforts continue, attention is also turning to long-term recovery and resilience building. Reconstructing homes, infrastructure, and public services will require significant financial resources and coordination among various stakeholders.
The government has announced plans to invest in rebuilding more resilient infrastructure, such as landslide-resistant roads and bridges, as well as implementing reforestation and soil conservation programs. These landslides serve as a stark reminder of the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events linked to climate change. While it is difficult to attribute a single event directly to climate change, the patterns of heavier and more unpredictable rainfall are consistent with climate models’ projections for the region.
This underscores the urgent need for global and national efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable development. The landslides are a tragic reminder of the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters, while the immediate response efforts were commendable, the long-term challenge lies in rebuilding and enhancing resilience to future events.
Addressing the root causes of the disaster, such as deforestation and poor land management, is crucial. Moreover, integrating climate change adaptation into development planning will be essential in safeguarding Ethiopia’s communities and ecosystems against the growing threat of extreme weather events.
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