Flash floods kill 125 in southern Ethiopia

At least 125 people have died in flooding in southern Ethiopia, a week after heavy rains caused some 250 deaths in the east of the country.

Local police were quoted as saying some were swept to their deaths in flash floods on Sunday when the Omo river burst its banks.

Helicopters are being sent to assess the damage and evacuate anyone trapped.
Flooding often hits low-lying parts of Ethiopia between June and September,
when heavy showers fall on dry regions.

"We have been told that villages are surrounded by the flood water and have requested for motor boats and helicopters to evacuate them," a local official who asked not to be named told Reuters news agency by telephone.

Last week, more than 250 people died when a river burst its banks and floodwaters swept through the city of Dire Dawa in the east of the country.

Over the past two years flooding has afflicted several areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia, killing hundreds and displacing hundreds of thousands.

Source:BBC News