At least 64 killed, dozens reported missing in Ethiopia landslides, floods
Al Jazeera1 day
64 Dead, 128 Missing in Ethiopia Floods and Landslides
Was this a natural disaster from heavy rains or a climate change catastrophe caused by fossil fuels?
Above: Firefighters inspect damage caused by heavy rain, which led to flood resident homes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Aug. 18, 2021. Image credit: Amanuel Sileshi/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Climate-skeptic narrative
Heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods across Ethiopia’s Gamo Zone after saturated slopes collapsed and buried homes in mountainous communities. While some analysts have tried to link this disaster to climate change, similar landslides have long occurred in the region's steep highlands before. It's important to probe whether this was extreme weather alone or deeper factors such as land use, deforestation, and weak disaster preparedness.
Climate-concerned narrative
Climate change has made these catastrophic rains up to twice as intense, turning manageable seasonal weather into deadly disasters across East Africa. Human-caused warming is driving more frequent and severe rainfall events that devastate vulnerable populations still recovering from earlier droughts. Rich countries burning fossil fuels are destabilizing the climate system and contributing to these lethal floods.
Metaculus Prediction
There is a 33% chance that Ethiopia will experience a successful coup d'etat before 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0