Nearly 200 dead, 300 missing in Ethiopia floods

DIRE DAWA, Ethiopia, Aug 7 (Reuters) Nearly 200 people are dead and hundreds more missing after floods swept through an eastern Ethiopian town over the weekend, police said today.

The Dechatu river burst its banks and flooded the town of Dire Dawa on Saturday night, drowning and trapping people in the sandy debris as they slept. The death toll has been mounting alongside a police recovery operation using bulldozers.

''One hundred and ninety-one people are dead, and we have 300 others unaccounted for, based on reports from relatives and our officers,'' police inspector Benyam Fikru told Reuters.

Operations were suspended overnight in the town located in Ethiopia's eastern lowlands, 525 km east of capital Addis Ababa, but were expected to resume today.

Heavy rains in Ethiopia's highlands during the June-August season usually cause rivers in lowland areas to overflow.

Thousands have been displaced by this year's rains and this latest surge in Dire Dawa has destroyed at least 220 homes.

Last week, the government said some 15,000 farmers were rescued from flooded lowland villages and taken to safe areas.

Wails filled the streets as people searched for the missing and dug through the debris for bodies of loved ones and friends.

Zeimeda Mohamed Hussein, a 35-year-old resident of Dire Dawa, said the crashing waters woke her late on Saturday night, but not in time for her to save her mother and son.

''As I woke up from my sleep, I found my house surrounded by water. I tried to get hold of my son and elderly mother and take them to safety, but it was too late. They had been washed away,'' she told Reuters. Their bodies were found later, she said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi today toured the disaster area promising to bring swift relief.

''We will provide emergency food and assistance... (and) see to it that they will be resettled as soon as possible,'' he said.

Ethiopia's state-run Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) appealed for funds for disaster relief.

Many Dire Dawa residents, like 22-year-old Muleta Defada, were lucky to escape with their lives but lost their homes.

''While we were asleep a gushing flood hit my house and it was forced to float like a boat,'' he said. ''I lost all my property, but saved my life by clinging to a nearby tree.'' Some residents blamed local officials for the disaster and said the death toll of 190 could double.

''There lots of people who still remain buried in the sand,'' 40-year-old Mohamed Nur Ahmed said. ''The death figure... was wrong. It could be double that.'' REUTERS SP RN1923