Flooding kills over 60 in eastern Ethiopia

Contrary to what was a common misconception when I was first coming to Ethiopia, we do actually get a fair bit of rain. And in the last week or so, we've been getting more than is usual for this time of year. Today, for example, we even got hail. It was bucketing down, and I was in our gym, which has a very large tin roof. My ears were still ringing for several minutes after it dissipated somewhat. Still, my problems are small potatoes compared to what has been going on elsewhere.

The Wabe Shebelle river, the largest in Ethiopia, burst it's banks on Saturday, killing at least 60, probably more. This region is several hundred kilometres southeast of Addis. If it's anything like much of southern Ethiopia, it was probably in flood-plain areas, which are usually flooded during the rainy season anyway. It just caught people by surprise this time.

In other news, Brad Pitt has paid us a second visit (the first being with his ex-wife Jennifer Anniston before their much publicised split) to get a first-hand view of the AIDS situation. Hopefully he can help more than me.