A landslide triggered by heavy overnight rainfall killed 14 people at a monastery in Ethiopia’s Amhara region Monday, as search crews worked to determine whether additional worshippers remained trapped beneath the debris.
The landslide struck the Tsadqane Debre Mitmaq St. Mary Monastery, where hundreds of worshippers had gathered for a holy water cleansing ritual widely sought by people seeking spiritual healing from chronic illness, according to church officials.
Megabe Hadis Neka Tibeb Ababu, the diocese’s general manager, said the disaster occurred around 7 a.m. as many victims were gathered to receive the holy water. Massive rocks broke loose from a nearby mountainside and crashed down onto worshippers, he said, worsening the toll from the mudslide.
What We Know So Far
Accounts of the toll varied slightly by source and by day. Church officials told the Associated Press that 14 people were killed and seven injured, with an unknown number still unaccounted for as of Monday. A day later, the diocesan head told a separate news agency that the death toll of 14 was final, with three people severely injured and receiving treatment at Debre Birhan Hospital. Local authorities in North Shewa zone separately confirmed 14 deaths but described the event as involving both an earthquake and a sudden landslide, without elaborating further.
Ababu said 11 of the dead had already been buried at the monastery, while the remains of others were sent to their hometowns. He said identifying some victims had proven difficult.
The landslide occurred near Sela Dingay, roughly 125 miles northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa. Those with serious injuries were taken to Debre Birhan, the capital of the North Shewa Administrative Zone, about 43 miles from the monastery.
Ababu said the disaster followed very heavy overnight rainfall accompanied by lightning and thunder, which sent a mudslide carrying rocks down a hillside into part of the monastery grounds.
What Authorities Are Saying
Ababu said the disaster unfolded quickly, with worshippers praying inside the monastery killed instantly when the debris struck. He said the injured were still undergoing treatment as of the following day.
Local officials in North Shewa zone confirmed the death toll but offered no additional details on their reference to an earthquake accompanying the landslide, leaving the precise sequence of events unclear.
Why This Matters
Ethiopia, a country of about 130 million people where more than three quarters of the population lives in rural areas, is in the midst of its longer rainy season, which runs from June through September and regularly brings climate related disasters to the country. Monday’s landslide adds to a troubling recent pattern: in July 2024, a landslide in southern Ethiopia killed at least 257 people, and 80 more died in floods and landslides in the same region in March of that year.
The scale of repeated disasters raises questions about early warning systems and land use planning in mountainous, rain exposed areas of the country, particularly at sites like religious monasteries that draw large seasonal crowds during vulnerable weather periods. The gathering of hundreds of worshippers for a religious ritual at the base of unstable terrain highlights the difficulty of balancing longstanding religious practices with safety amid increasingly severe rainfall patterns linked to the region’s changing climate.
Other Developments: Flooding and Landslides in Southern India
Separately, heavy rains and flooding battered southern India over the weekend, killing at least 11 people and displacing thousands in the state of Kerala, officials and local reports said. A related landslide in neighboring Karnataka state killed at least three people.
Kerala’s death toll from rain related incidents reached 11 by Sunday, a state government minister said, with nearly 7,700 people evacuated to about 275 relief camps across the state. Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan said Monday he planned to meet with district officials to review relief camp arrangements, after cleanup operations began in flood affected areas Sunday.
Heavy rain forced the closure of numerous schools across Kerala, and the state government postponed a planned teacher recruitment exam. Kerala’s disaster management authority said strong winds and moderate rainfall were expected in parts of the state Monday. In Karnataka, a landslide triggered by the same weather system killed a couple and their son Saturday, according to local news reports.
What Happens Next
Search and rescue efforts in Ethiopia are continuing as officials work to confirm whether additional victims remain missing, despite one source describing the death toll as final. Authorities have not indicated whether a broader investigation into the disaster’s causes, including the reported earthquake reference from local officials, will follow.
In India, relief operations are expected to continue in Kerala as authorities monitor forecasts for additional rain and wind in the coming days, while cleanup and recovery efforts proceed in both Kerala and Karnataka.
Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Agence France Presse, Reuters and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
