Floods devastate Ethiopia, drought ravages Australia. by Susan Powell
The balance of the weather around the world is often a delicate thing, with many livelihoods directly dependent on their local climate. This is as apparent as ever at the moment as heavy rain and floods continue to take a massive toll on southeastern Ethiopia, whilst the continued absence of rain parches Australia.
Southeastern Ethiopia has been hit by massive flooding for nearly two weeks now, following on from days of torrential rain. The downpours continue pounding the Somali state even now - so far 250,000 people have been affected.
The worst of the flooding occurred as the regions Wabe Shebell river burst its banks on the 23rd April. Just days before the area had been so badly hit by repeated drought that the river bed lay dry and cracked. Now the river is flooded along almost its entire length, stretching across the border into Somalia.
Neighbouring Kenya has also been awash with rain, leaving thousands homeless in the northeast.
Flooding is particularly disastrous across this area - many of the local villages depend totally on subsistence farming to survive. The extent of the problem may be greater than we know too – some areas are unable to report damage yet as the flooding has taken out communication systems.
Meanwhile in Australia, despite recent heavy rain for some, the drought continues to make the headlines for one reason or another. As you may well have read in the ‘Weather News’ of recent days much of the country received 20% or less of its average rainfall for April, and so far has seen the second driest start to a year since records began in 1910.
Agriculture has so far been the weather's most direct victim (between 60 and 70% of the nations productive farmlands are in drought declared areas), but now the effects are also reaching further a field across the economy. The dry and hot weather is predicted to hit retail badly this season. Shops hoping to sell jumpers, heaters and comfort food face greatly reduced sales this winter.
Unfortunately there are no clear signs of an end to the drought in the near future. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has already warned there is a greater chance of an El Nino this year – a phenomenon directly related to drought in Australia.
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