Essay On Flood In Ethiopia

Flood is defined as the over-flowing by water of the normal confines of a stream or other body of water, or the accumulation of water by drainage over areas that are not normally submerged (WMO, 1990). It is an unavoidable natural phenomenon occurring from time to time in all rivers and natural drainage systems which creates damages on properties, natural resources and people (Kumar and Santosh, 2015).

In Ethiopia, a major river basin that has serious flood problems is the Awash River basin located in the Rift Valley. About 200,000-250,000 ha. is subject to flooding during high flows of the Awash River. The other rivers where significant floods occur are Wabi-Shebelle River in southeastern Ethiopia near the Somali border and Baro-Akobo/Sobat River in western

Those factors are considered to be the major causes of flooding (Kebede, 2012). Therefore, activities in the catchment such as land clearing for agriculture may increase the magnitude of flood. Similarly, Daniels (2007) study shows that clearing of shrub lands and expansion of settlement have a direct impact on the increment of flood volume and discharge. Another study made by Khaleghi, et al. (2015) confirms that some human activities such as construction increase the risk of flooding in the floodplain of the river. Hapuarachchi, et al. (2011) explain the relationship between climate changes, urbanization and flash flooding .According to this study, projections of climate change indicate an increase in the intensity of rainfall in some parts of the world, which may lead to more severe flash flooding. In addition, expansion of urbanization into marginal lands associated with poor drainage facilities will result in larger segments of the population being prone to flash