Ethiopia Floods Kill More Than 625

Flooding from 11 days of heavy rain has killed at least 626 people across Ethiopia, and authorities Wednesday braced for a rising death toll as overwhelmed rescuers struggled to locate missing villagers.

Rivers in southern, northern and eastern Ethiopia burst their banks but forecasters predicted even more rain. The death toll in southern Ethiopia was at 364, and police there said it could reach 1,000 while another 256 were killed in the east and six in the north.

According to the U.N., 300 people are still missing in the east, and police said they are calling off the search for bodies in the region while continuing their search and rescue in the south.

"Things are getting out of control," said Inspector Daniel Gezahenge, a spokesman for the southern regional police. "We need additional helicopters and boats for rescuing."

The country's rescue efforts have been bolstered by the United Nations and other international agencies, but officials say it's not enough.

"We are appealing to aid agencies and the international community for medical supplies, food, clean water, blankets and anything that can help," Daniel said. "There are dead bodies and animals in the water, making the likelihood for a disease outbreak very high."

Sisay Tadesse, spokesman for the government-run Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Agency, said some countries are preparing to send search and rescue teams, but he did not name the countries.

Daniel said workers were burying most bodies immediately to prevent a disease outbreak. The nearest morgue was more than 124 miles away from the flood area.

Daniel said the water level is rising along River Kibish, near the Omo Valley in the south, where as many as 10,000 people have been stranded.

Sisay said the government is planning emergency evacuations of villages that are threatened.

"The situation is very alarming on the ground," he said. "For the time being we have 14 boats in the rescue effort. We are doing our best to rescue people in the threatened areas."

Abnezer Ngowi, the U.N. World Food Program's acting country director in Ethiopia, said the floods are an "unprecedented disaster," in the country.

"It is a terrible situation. Children are being orphaned and residents in the communities are undergoing a horrible event. The loss of life due to the floods is terrible," said Ngowi.

Rescuers fear a cholera outbreak among survivors because it is transmitted through contaminated water and is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and bad sanitation. Symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting, which can kill unless treated quickly.

The rains, which usually fall between June and September, are some of the heaviest seen in a country that frequently suffers severe drought and where millions depend on international aid for food.

Ethiopia's weather agency predicted more heavy rains in the coming days, prompting the government to issue flood warnings along the country's longest river, the Awash, which stretches 746 miles.