Floods kill 17, displace 100,000

The death toll from floods in southeastern Ethiopia has risen to 17 and more than 100,000 people have been left homeless, the government said on Friday.

The death toll from floods in southeastern Ethiopia has risen to 17 and more than 100,000 people have been left homeless, the government said on Friday.

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The Wabe Shebelle river burst its banks last weekend after 10 days of heavy rain in the highlands, drowning thousands of livestock, wrecking crops and submerging scores of villages.

Gouled Ahmed, head of the region's Disaster Prevention Department, said three of the 17 dead were eaten by crocodiles that were flushed into residential areas by the raging waters.

The remote region is prone to droughts and flooding. Scores of people died last year after weeks of heavy downpours.