Ethiopia's House of People's Representatives has declared a three-day national mourning period following the deadly landslide in Gamo Zone that has killed at least 64 people.
The declaration was issued in an official statement on March 13, according to Fana Broadcasting. The landslide occurred earlier this week in Laka Kebele, Gamo Zone, in South Ethiopia Regional State.
The parliamentary mourning declaration represents a significant escalation in the government's official response to the disaster. The death toll from the March 11 landslide has climbed from an initial 30 fatalities to at least 64, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent Ethiopian history.
Government officials pledged rehabilitation support for affected communities on March 13, the same day parliament issued the mourning declaration. The disaster struck just one day after federal authorities warned of heightened landslide risk across seven regions through 2027.
Rescue operations have continued in Laka Kebele as authorities work to locate survivors and recover bodies from the debris. Local officials have not yet provided updated casualty figures beyond the 64 confirmed deaths reported earlier this week.
National mourning declarations are relatively uncommon in Ethiopia and typically reserved for events of exceptional national significance. The three-day mourning period underscores the political gravity federal authorities have assigned to the Gamo Zone disaster. The government's own landslide risk assessment, issued March 12, identified similar geological vulnerabilities across multiple regions, suggesting the Gamo Zone tragedy may represent a broader pattern of climate-related disasters facing the country.
