ADDIS ABABA, 25 August 2010 (IRIN) - Heavy flooding in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia has displaced more than 8,000 people, say officials.

The floods hit the Dawa Chefa, Hartuma Fursi and Bishee Edida districts after three days of torrential rain, according to the zonal disaster and food security coordination office, which also reported an urgent need for tents to shelter the displaced. Nineteen people are reported to have died.

Some 53,237 households in Oromiya, South Wollo, North Wollo, South Gondar, North Gondar and North Shoa zones in Amhara have been affected, with 1,960 households temporarily displaced, stated a 23 August update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It warned of the risk of flooding in western, southwestern and central parts of Ethiopia in September.

Crops planted on about 6,132ha of land have also either been inundated or washed away, requiring replanting in some cases, added the Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector, which on 18 August issued a flood alert for the remainder of the kiremt (June-September) rainy season.