Southern Ethiopia Rains "to Last Until October"
Date: 23-Aug-06
Country: ETHIOPIA
"Under normal circumstances, rains in the Omo Valley and other lowland areas of the country will continue until mid-October," said the agency's director general Kidane Asefa.
The flash floods that began earlier this month have killed some 900 people and displaced about 48,000. The United Nations has warned many of the homeless are now at risk from disease.
While the southern lowlands would continue to be swamped by downpours, Kidane said heavy rains in Ethiopia's northeastern highlands were expected to reduce by early September.
"Within the next 10 days the rains are expected to move southward and Lake Tana and its environs in northeast Ethiopia, threatened by flood ... will turn to normal," he added.
He blamed the recent floods on the short April-May rains running into the main rainy season, which began in June.
"The two seasons were combined creating a long rainy season which caused rivers to overflow their banks," Kidane said.
On Monday, the UN said acute diarrhoea had killed 150 people and infected nearly 12,000 others. It said water-borne diseases were spreading at an alarming rate.
