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Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Oct-Nov-Dec rainy season - Flash Update 1 - As of 18 December 2023

Attachments

This report is prepared jointly between OCHA and the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) with the support and collaboration of cluster coordinators and humanitarian partners. This is an information product that might be followed by further updates. Boundaries, names and designations of districts/zones indicated in the narration in the report do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Please contact ocha-eth-communication@un.org for any comment or question you may have on this publication.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Over 616,000 flood-displaced people require lifesaving assistance across multiple sectors.

• Cessation of rains in the Somali region has allowed more humanitarian access and the beginning of spontaneous returns to some areas, but to damaged houses and livelihoods.

• Forecast for more rain in South Ethiopia region risks further humanitarian impact.

• Over 150,000 people received life-saving assistance, including 100,000 with emergency shelter and nonfood items, 18,300 with food assistance and 32,000 with water treatment.

• Lack of funding is a major challenge in the response to floods, scale-up and urgency are key; a CERF rapid response funding of up to US$8 million has preliminarily been approved.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

About 1.5 million people have been affected by the El Niño induced floods during the deyr/hageya (October to December) rain season in the south and southeastern parts of Ethiopia including Somali, South Ethiopia, South West Ethiopia and Oromia regions, as well as in Afar, Amhara and Gambela regions. As of 6 December, 60 human fatalities have been reported, and over 616,000 people who remain displaced need emergency shelter or are living in public infrastructures such as in schools, many of which have been damaged.

The south and south-eastern flood-affected communities, having also been severely impacted by the recent drought (2021-2022) compounded by the flooding in early 2023, will face further delay in the recovery from livelihood losses with floods destroying at least 215,600 hectares (ha) of cropland, as well as grazing land (123,000 ha) and causing 21,500 livestock deaths. Cessation of rains have allowed in the Somali region, a level of access to some communities in need, and in Afar, for the return of the majority of flood-displaced to their places of origin amidst major gaps in life-saving assistance, while more rains could mean an exasperated humanitarian situation for South Ethiopia

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