Casualties to People and Property Īccording to statistics, nearly 20,000 families were displaced in Ethiopia in 2016 due to floods and unusual disasters that occurred in various parts of the country. Direct Impact of Floods in Ethiopia įloods in Ethiopia have direct environmental and socio-economic impacts these include the impact of pollution on the environment and the socio-economic impact of damage to people's homes and economic property. Negative impacts of climate change could create a new set of refugees, who may migrate into new settlements, seek new livelihoods and place additional demands on infrastructure (IPCC, 2007).
Indeed, for urban planners, the biggest threats to localized population concentrations posed by climate variability and change are often expected to be from little-characterized and unpredictable rapid-onset disasters such as storm surges, flash floods and tropical cyclones (Freeman, 2003). Impacts on Settlement and Infrastructure Ĭlimate variability, including extreme events such as storms, floods and sustained droughts, has marked impacts on settlements and infrastructure. Agro-pastoral and pastoral households, which are reliant on livestock for their livelihoods, also suffer severe asset losses during droughts.
The availability of food has become a major bottleneck for millions of households in many parts of Ethiopia due to the repeated drought cycles and disparity in rainfall. Impacts on Food Availability īecause of irregular rainfall and droughts the country is experiencing deficits in food production in several areas, and likely increase in acute weather events, amplified aridity and a decrease in precipitation, range resources and soil moisture will escalate the situation. Rainwater scarcity would affect the aquatic life by deteriorating the quality and quantity of a water body. Consequently, the ecosystem, which is the source of rain and water resource, will be affected. Impacts on Water Resources Īccording to NAPA (2011), the water resources sector will be affected by climate change through a decrease in river run-off, a decrease in energy production, as well as increased floods and droughts. The floods have also killed livestock and destroyed large areas of farmland. Thousands of individuals living within the flooded areas have little shelter or food and are exposed to terrible weather, with the danger of contracting diseases. In Ethiopia, the 2016 flood event occurred with heavy Kiremt rains and caused many localized flash floods, landslides, and overflowing of rivers in Lower Omo Valley, Dire Dawa, Amhara, Afar, Somali, Tigray, Gambella, Oromia, and Harari regions. In 2016, some areas in the Horn of Africa experienced flood events following the 2015 El Nino (drought) events.
Commonly, these La Nina events in Ethiopia were preceded by the drought effects of El Nino events. Typically, La Nina events are associated with higher-than-normal rainfall between June and September in central and highland Ethiopia, leading to flooding. The characteristics of heavy precipitation and distribution, as well as the preconditions of hydrological variables (soil moisture content, groundwater and surface water level), play an important role in the physical change of flood influence factors. Many parts of these river basins are affected by prominent flash floods and river floods. Most major rivers are of a transboundary nature and cross-border. Flood Area Description īasin map of Ethiopia with flood-prone extents.Įthiopia has 12 basins, of which 8 are basins, 1 is a lake basin with perennial rivers and 3 are dry basins.
The identified historical flood event years (1988, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2012, and 2016) in the country were also known as La Niήa episodes.
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