Recident still terrified of that situation being repeated

Massive flash flood in Dire Dawa - Ethiopia

By Phillip B.

On April 23, 2010, unexpectedly a massive flash flood scared the people of Dire Dawa. The Flood waters flowed through the “Queen City of the Desert” around 6:30 AM in the morning without human causality or major infrastructural damage. This is with the notable exception of the recently constructed levees which swiftly crumbled away in just a few minutes.

Unlike the floods of recent years, this one left no one homeless. Dire Dawa residents counted themselves as fortunate and blessed to have survived the flooding without major incident. The popular local sentiment is that emergency preparation and experience served them well.

One eye witness, Kenet Miteku (29), told NewsDire that he saw flood waters flowing high above a well known local bridge instead of under it. To him it was a surprise that the flood waters receded after just a few hours without much damage.

Residents of Dire Dawa clearly remember the violent flooding that happened in 2006 and claimed hundreds of lives in just one night. They are still terrified of that situation being repeated and sometimes spend their nights in the safety of the nearby mountains during flood season.



NewsDire Staff Writer