On 11 March 2017, a garbage landslide at the Koshe Garbage Dump in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia killed 115 people.[1] Koshe (alternatively spelled Quoshee or Repi), derived from the Amharic word for 'dirty', had hundreds of people living in unincorporated communities beneath the 50-year-old garbage dump's unstable mounds. Both shanty houses and concrete structures were built in Koshe by residents attracted to the area's cheap cost-of-living and availability of recyclables to collect for income. Destabilized by constant human interaction, a segment of one of the garbage mounds collapsed during the evening onto one of Koshe's communities.
  | |
| Date | 11 March 2017 |
|---|---|
| Location | Koshe, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Cause | Landslide from garbage piling |
| Deaths | 115[1] |
Landslide
editThe landslide occurred Saturday evening at 20:00 as many people were inside of their homes.[1] A large garbage mound collapsed onto a neighborhood of about 150 people, sliding into the community with enough force destroy brick and concrete structures as well as shanty houses.[2]
Garbage landslides are particularly deadly because buried victims are often quickly suffocated by landfill gases like methane and carbon dioxide, in addition to temperatures within decomposing mounds easily reaching 140 °F (60 °C) or higher.[3] Six excavators were hired by authorities to clear away rubble in the search for survivors or victims[4] Emergency officials rescued 37 people in the immediate aftermath of the landslide, but struggled to reach dozens more buried beneath the black dirt and debris.[4] Despite the inhospitable environment, another man was rescued from beneath the collapsed mound two days after the slide. Officials redeployed excavators from across Addis Ababa to help search efforts.[5]
The garbage landslide killed at least 115 people and left dozens of others missing.[6] Speculation by locals in the immediate aftermath blamed the landslides on new garbage dumping in the area after a several-year cessation,[4] and bulldozers used in construction of a nearby biogas plant for packing down and shaking the area's dirt, possibly destabilizing the garbage mounds in the process.[6]
Government response
editThe response to the landslide by Ethiopia's government underscored public outrage over the impoverished conditions of Koshe, prompting policy changes in housing and construction.[7] Ethiopia's Communications Minister Negeri Lencho announced the creation of investigative committee had been created to determine the cause of the landslide.[1] 56 families were moved to temporary government housing in Koshe's Nifas Silk Sub-City and Kolfe Keranio Sub-City as part of resettlement efforts with plans to eventually permanently resettle them.[8] Additionally, plans were made to convert the disaster site into an open-air park.[9] But Koshe's makeshift communities remained populated when another landslide struck in June 2019, killing a man.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Ahmed, Hadra; Fortin, Jacey (20 March 2017). "As Trash Avalanche Toll Rises in Ethiopia, Survivors Ask Why". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Buried in Ethiopian dump landslide: a young man and his dream". Reuters. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ Trautmann, Nancy (1996). "Compost Physics". Cornell Composting.
- ^ a b c Meseret, Elias (12 March 2017). "46 killed, dozens missing in Ethiopia garbage dump landslide". Associated Press. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ Meseret, Elias. "Death toll in Ethiopia landfill collapse rises to 113". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ a b Pappas, Stephanie (12 March 2017). "Koshe Disaster: What Causes Garbage Landslides?". Live Science. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ Gardner, Tom (3 May 2017). "Ethiopia's deadly rubbish dump landslide sparks landrights battle". Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "Landslide at Ethiopia garbage dump kills dozens, injures scores | DW | 12.03.2017". DetuschWelle.com. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "Ethiopia to turn site of deadly landfill collapse into park". News24.
- ^ "Ethiopia: garbage dump landslide at koshe in Addis Ababa claimed life again". Borkena.com. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.