The UN warns that the death toll from Ethiopia’s landslides could reach 500

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Thursday that the number of fatalities from landslides that occurred in Ethiopia earlier this week has increased to 257 and is predicted to nearly quadruple.

In the southern Ethiopian Gofa Zone, heavy rains caused a landslide on Sunday night that buried individuals, and another one on Monday that enveloped those doing rescue operations.

“The death toll is expected to rise to up to 500 people as per information received from local authorities,” UNOCHA stated in its report.

Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission reported 229 fatalities on Tuesday.

Administrator for the Gofa Zone Dagmawi Ayele reported that rescuers were looking for 20 more victims in addition to the 226 they had already found. The bodies had been buried during a funeral service.

He said, “It is too dangerous to approach to the site,” noting that Thursday’s rains would not stop.