Ethiopia has rescued thousands marooned by flash floods that have killed nearly 900 people this month, but tens of thousands remain homeless as more rivers spilled over across the nation. State TV said on Sunday that Ethiopia had relocated 16,000 residents stranded after heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks.

But officials fear the death toll could still rise rapidly as bad weather and poor access hamper relief efforts. The floods have hit large areas throughout the Horn of Africa nation, displacing some 48,000 people, according to UN estimates. Ethiopia has warned that more rivers are overflowing, and its major dams are near to rupturing. In the southwestern town of Omerate, children played near artificial sand dunes protecting the area while rescued residents gathered under trees with friends and family, aid workers said.

But rising waters filled a nearby dam threatening to flood the area anew, devastated when the Omo River burst its banks last week killing 364 people. "The river is very high, but it s prevented from getting into town by artificial sand dunes," said Maaike Hendriks, who led a team from aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to the area near the Kenyan border. "There were some problems with the dam. They might have to open the gates," she added. Water from heavy rains must be released to ease mounting pressure on the dam s walls.

Threatned

In the mainly pastoral south, rescue workers say it is difficult to separate herders from their cattle. Special forces in helicopters descended from ropes to help the stranded. "The people do not like to be rescued at first because they have to leave their cattle behind. The Ethiopian government sometimes have a hard time getting people to come out of the water," Hendriks said.

State TV said 13,000 people, threatened by the rising waters of Lake Tana in the north, had been relocated to safe areas. MSF said last week that the number displaced by flooding near Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River, could rise to 35,000 in the coming weeks. State television said 1,000 people hit by the flooding of the Omo River had been evacuated, while another 2,000 Ethiopians from Sodo town in the south had been saved as the Beltain River overflowed causing landslides. Flooding typically occurs in Ethiopia s lowlands after heavy rains in the June-September rainy season drench the highlands.
(Por Tsegaye Tadesse e Jack Kimball, Planet Ark, 21/08/2006)