Death toll in southern Ethiopia mudslides rises to at least 146 as search operations continue

At least 146 people were killed in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia that has been hit with heavy rainfall, according to local authorities. Young children and pregnant women were among the victims of the mudslides in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator. The death toll rose from 55 late Monday to 146 on Tuesday as search operations continued in the area, said Kassahun Abayneh of the Gofa Zone communications office. Gofa Zone is the administrative area in which the the mudslides happened. Landslides are common during Ethiopia’s rainy reason, which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September.