Flooding and heavy rain have displaced around 240,000 people in Ethiopia since mid-March 2023, according to a recent report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA). At least 29 people have died as a result of the floods.

The Afar, Oromia, Somali, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP) Regions have been severely affected by the onset of the Belg and Gu rains, which have caused loss of life and damage to shelters, agriculture, livestock, and infrastructure.

In the Afar Region, floods have displaced 12,500 people in several districts, causing the death of hundreds of livestock and destroying crops. In the Oromia Region, around 27,000 people in IDP camps have been affected by damaged shelters. The worst affected area is the Somali Region, where flash floods have affected 200,000 people in several zones, causing the death of 29 people and damaging private homes, agricultural land, bridges, schools, water sources, and other public infrastructure.

Images provided by the United Nations Satellite Centre UNOSAT showed flooding along the Shabelle River in the Shabelle District. As of 28 March 2023, as much as 485 km2 of land was under water, with an estimated 40,000 people exposed to floodwaters.

Meanwhile, rising levels of the Omo River are threatening to flood areas of the SNNP Region. Dassenech Woreda is home to 60,790 flood IDPs, scattered in 16 gathering sites since 2020. These people were originally displaced following the uncontrolled release of water from the Gilgel Gibe 3 Dam in Dawuro Woreda in the South West Region in 2020.

The country has been suffering from long-term drought conditions following five consecutive failed rainy seasons. In March, UN OCHA reported that 24 million people were living in drought-affected areas and 11 million people were estimated to be food insecure.