Landslide Nightmare

Gofa Reels From Catastrophic Calamity, Risks Remain in Other Areas

A remote village in Ethiopia’s Gofa Zone has been devastated by a catastrophic landslide that has buried hundreds of people alive. The tragedy has prompted a massive humanitarian response as survivors grapple with the loss of loved ones and the uncertainty of the future. The incident underscores the importance of investing in early warning systems and disaster prevention measures. EBR’s Samuel Getachew visits the area to speak to survivors, eyewitnesses and community leaders.

On top of a hill in the suburbs of Sawla, a town in southern Ethiopia’s Gofa Zone, 549km from the capital, Addis Ababa, villagers have been digging for days in a frantic search to find bodies of victims of a major landslide that has so far claimed close to 300 lives. The UN estimate takes the figure to about 500.

“My husband and my four sons went to take part in the search and rescue mission when we found out that our neighbour, an elderly man who is a widower, had been trapped,” said Tigist Belachew, a distraught mother.

“Instead, they became victims of the second wave of landslide and all have buried alive”, Tigist added as she wept tears, carrying an infant, her only child left on her back.

The story of Tigist mirrors the horror and devastation villagers in the Gofa Zone are grappling with after the landslide, one of the worst to hit Ethiopia in recent times.

Her neighbour also lost an entire family on the second wave of the landslide, which had a more significant magnitude and impact than the first. Their houses now sit empty, turning a once vibrant village into a shell characterised by sorrow and mourning.

“My other neighbour was a young man, with a wife and two children. They have all vanished and the situation looks like a collective grief,” Tigist said. According to eyewitnesses, the first landslide happened on a Sunday night, and as villagers found out about half a dozen people were trapped, they decided to run to the site to help save the lives of those who were believed to be trapped in the debris.

Hundreds of people started excavating the mudslide site against all odds using crude implements, but finding survivors remained a tall order. All of a sudden, a second landslide caved in, swallowing a vast landmass and killing many instantly.

There were few survivors, according to the villagers. With no modern transport infrastructure to ferry them to a hospital that is an hour’s drive away and with the absence of a medical facility within the village, many of the victims died before getting medical assistance.

“We have broken roads tht connects our neighbourhood to the city, we are in the middle of a dead-end village and we saw them as they took their last breath”, said a 61-year-old resident, Yakob Melesse, who disclosed that he helped carry most of the bodies to a soccer field where most holiday celebrations happen, for the funeral service.

The local government in Gofa estimates there are approximately 280 people who may have died as a result of the landslides. Yet, the United Nations estimates that the number may be upwards of 500. On their part, the villagers say the number could be much higher.

Tamene Ayele lost dozens of close family members across gender and generational divides and has been digging with little hope of finding loved ones. However, his effort only helped him to see several bodies of the diseased.

“I have lost many people, my cousins, uncles and in total 28 members of my family”, Tamene said while sobbing. “There are many who have not been able to locate even the bodies of their loved ones, devastating a whole community that is now mourning a loss that is overwhelming”.

For a week, the cash-strapped local government conducted mass funerals at the gravesites to accommodate the many victims of a landslide. According to some professional estimates, the gravity of the landslide is the largest to have occurred in the Horn of African Nations in living memory.

The tragedy has made headlines, and recently, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed led a team that included former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, former speaker of the House of Peoples Representatives Aba Dula Gemeda and visited the site of the landslide, promising to deliver humanitarian assistance.

Nationwide fundraising efforts to support disaster relief have garnered 100 million Birr. Superstar musician Tewodros Kassahun, known as Teddy Afro, has contributed a significant one million Birr to the cause.

International support has poured in from friendly nations, including South Korea, Djibouti, and the United Arab Emirates, which have pledged financial aid, essential equipment, and emergency relief supplies to augment rescue and search operations.

Global leaders have extended their sympathies, with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa among those offering condolences. Numerous other heads of state and government have also expressed their solidarity.

So far, little help has come to recover bodies. Instead, only some local non-governmental organisations offer food and bottled water. More mobilised support from area towns and regions is still arriving, offering similar support.

Almost every household in the area is in a funeral mode, and many residents are still recovering decomposed bodies, holding funerals with little fanfare. They are overwhelmed with what has happened to them in the last week.

Residents fear their situation will soon be forgotten, and their plight will be history as the nation grapples with endless priorities far from their particular village. That mass unmarked grave is still accommodating more victims. Asseged Mamo lost most of his family members and friends. He says the village is in a remote part of Gamo Gofa, the residents could be better, and neither the regional nor the state government has ever prioritised their issues.

“Such landslides have been predicted for aeons, and the right infrastructure could have helped avoid such tragedy. Promises have not been kept to us, and there is little indication anything will change,” he said, adding, “Our future is still bleak despite the high-level government officials who have arrived in our village, and we will soon be a government statistic.”

The landslide in Gofa is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of communities to natural disasters, particularly those with limited resources and infrastructure. The tragedy has inflicted immeasurable suffering, with hundreds of lives lost and entire families wiped out. While commendable in mobilising aid and support, the government’s response has been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster. The villagers’ resilience in the face of such devastation is inspiring, but it is clear that much more needs to be done to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

While the news about the landslide in the Gofa Zone remains actively circulating, similar calamities of a lower scale also happened in Wolait Zone, Sidama, and Dessie. This calls for a more coordinated national effort and intervention. Studies on landslide risk in Ethiopian towns and settlements are rare; however, some online resources show an uncommon attempt to study the risk situations of Dessie. The city surrounded by mountains is a busy trade route in the Amhara state. The surrounding mountains expose it to a high risk of landslides and runoff water. In the city of 200,000 residents, landslides heavily interact with a disorderly expanding human settlement, inducing high-risk conditions for human lives, buildings, infrastructures and economic activities. Based on a detailed geological and geomorphological field survey and mapping, a GIS-based landslide susceptibility analysis has been applied to the Dessie basin by a group of researchers led by Domenico GUIDA (PhD), professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Salerno, Italy. The landslide risk map and the related report constitute the starting point for a possible risk mitigation plan in Dessie’s urban area. Such a scientific approach to mitigating landslides and other national calamities is necessary for areas that humans have settled across the country.

Indeed, Ethiopia needs to a comprehensive disaster risk reduction strategies to mitigate the risk of future landslides and other natural calamities. It needs to carefully design interventions that involve multifaceted approach encompassing early warning systems, land-use planning, infrastructure development, and community preparedness.

Investing in robust early warning systems is crucial. This intervention includes establishing a network of weather stations, monitoring geological conditions, and developing effective communication channels to alert communities of impending threats. Experts say “land-use planning should be strictly enforced to avoid construction and human settlement in high-risk areas.” The planning requires a comprehensive assessment of slopes, soil stability, and drainage systems. Furthermore, the government should prioritise the development of resilient infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and drainage systems, to withstand extreme weather events.

Building community resilience is equally important. That’s why educating the public about landslide risks, conducting evacuation drills, and establishing emergency response plans is imperative. Empowering local communities through training and capacity building can significantly enhance their ability to cope with and recover from disasters.

Even though emergency relief assistance and rehabilitation are critical, long-term and sustainable solutions to strengthen the coordination and collaboration among government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and local communities and create a platform to respond to such disasters from risk management funds immediately are important. A comprehensive disaster management framework should also be in place to ensure adequate response, recovery, and reconstruction efforts.

These strategic measures would significantly reduce the risk of future landslides and build a more resilient society. Disaster prevention is not merely an expense but a strategic investment in citizens’ well-being. EBR

12th Year • Aug 2024 • No. 132