landslides NaturalHazards FloodRisk DisasterEngineering

Rainfall saturation triggers deadly hillside collapses in Ethiopia

*Rescue teams and residents searching through mud deposits in affected communities. Source: Al Jazeera (image by Gacho Baba District Government Communication Affairs Department/AP)*

At least 102 people have been killed after a series of landslides and floods struck the Gamo Zone in southern Ethiopia following several days of intense rainfall. The disaster unfolded across highland districts where saturated slopes failed, sending large volumes of soil and debris downhill and burying homes and infrastructure. Initial reports earlier in the week indicated dozens of casualties, but the confirmed death toll has steadily increased as rescue teams continue recovery operations and search for missing residents.

Authorities reported that many victims were found buried in mud after hillside failures occurred in multiple locations across the region. Local officials have also indicated that dozens of people remain unaccounted for. Rescue operations have been complicated by blocked roads, damaged bridges, and continuing rainfall, which have hindered emergency access to affected communities.

The Gamo Zone communications office confirmed that the landslides were triggered by sustained heavy rains that saturated the soil in the mountainous terrain surrounding the town of Arba Minch and nearby districts.

The affected areas lie within Ethiopia’s highland regions, where steep terrain and intense seasonal rainfall create conditions highly susceptible to landslides. When prolonged rainfall infiltrates the soil, pore water pressure within the slope increases. This reduces effective stress in the soil mass and weakens the shear strength of the slope material.

In many cases, slopes fail when the resisting forces within the soil are no longer able to counteract gravitational driving forces. Saturated soils can lose stability rapidly, particularly where vegetation cover has been disturbed or drainage conditions are poor. Once failure initiates, mudflows and debris slides can travel quickly downslope, entraining additional soil, vegetation, and structures.

Photographs from the disaster area show hillsides stripped of vegetation and large volumes of displaced soil. In several locations, residents were observed searching through deep mud deposits for survivors. The collapse of slope material also buried houses and agricultural land located below the affected hillsides.

Highland communities are particularly vulnerable because settlements are often located on or below steep terrain where rainfall runoff naturally accumulates.

The landslides have caused widespread damage to infrastructure across the Gamo Zone. Several roads have been blocked by mud and debris, and flooding has affected bridges and transportation routes that connect rural communities to nearby towns.

Flooded roads and blocked transportation routes caused by debris flows and landslides. Source: Al Jazeera

Emergency teams are continuing search and rescue efforts while authorities monitor slopes for additional instability. Officials have urged residents living in flood-prone valleys and hillside areas to move to safer ground as rainfall is expected to continue.

Mudslides and flooding are recurring hazards in parts of Ethiopia during the rainy season. Similar disasters have occurred in recent years when prolonged rainfall destabilized slopes in mountainous regions.

Climatological studies over the past two decades have also identified increasing variability in rainfall patterns across East Africa, including more frequent extreme rainfall events. Such conditions can significantly increase landslide susceptibility in areas with steep terrain and limited slope protection measures.

The Gamo Zone disaster highlights the continuing vulnerability of mountainous settlements to rainfall-induced landslides and underscores the importance of slope stability monitoring, improved drainage systems, and land-use planning in high-risk regions.