Three people have died following a landslide at Jan Amora area of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia on Monday 16 September 2019. The three dead are reported to all be members of the same family, with the youngest being an eighteen-month-old toddler. This is the latest in a series of fatal landslides in the Amhara Region over the past two months, linked to the exceptionally heavy rains falling across northern Ethiopia. Landslides
are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water
pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to
flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by
heavy rainfall.
The approximate location of the 16 September 2019 Jan Amora landslide. Google Maps.
The landslides have been caused exceptional rainfall in the mountains of Ethiopia this
year, which has in turn been caused by high temperatures over the Gulf
of Oman, leading to higher levels of evaporation there. High levels of
evaporation in the Gulf of Oman leads to more rainfall in Ethiopia, and
higher waters on the River Nile, and recent years have seen a series of
exceptionally hot summers in the region, with consequent increases in
flooding and water born disease along the course of the Nile.
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